The Best is Yet to Come

Evangelical Christians - good news or bad?

2011-08-02T13:48:00.005Z

Yes, I know I haven't written a blog for a very long time, but today I read something that I knew I had to share.

Last week, we had the sad, but joyous news that John Stott has left this earth and is now in glory. There have been many amazing tributes from Christians all over the world. Yet, in some ways more amazing, has been the response of the world. The next day, the BBC published an article on their website.

Then, today, my Google+ stream had a post referring to a New York Times article.

This is the world writing about an evangelical Christian leader! Sadly most of what we hear about on the "secular" news is about nutters like Pastor Terry Jones. Yet, not only do we have a message of amazing grace that transforms lives, the grace of God is so glorious and transforming that we also can lead lives that leave a lasting legacy on earth.

The famous "footprints" story has footprints in the sand. But after a while the sea comes in and washes the footprints away. I believe that our purpose is to leave footprints in the rock... footprints that years ahead will still leave their mark in lives that follow on after us.

John Stott, in his passing into glory, is good news story - even the world. How about us?

What do we have to do to get the glory back?

2009-06-26T12:42:00.002Z

1 Samuel 4 ends with one of the most tragic events in the history of Israel before the exile. The ark of the covenant was taken by the Philistines and the final sentence of the chapter (v22) says, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

The ark represented the tangible presence of God. He had promised (Ex 25v22), "I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony." In 1 Samuel 4, all this had gone. Today, if we are honest about the condition of the church in general, then the glory has departed... there are glimpses yes, but the manifest, weighty glory of God is not seen in most churches. In the New Covenant, we see even more what that glory means... it means thousands swept into the kingdom, it means the demonised delivered with a word, it means the multitudes healed and the dead raised, and it means a church on fire, united, and passionate about the Lord of glory. These are things that generally we are not seeing.

Many church leaders recognise this, and various activities are launched around the world to seek God for revival. The impression is given that if we pray, fast, and get holy enough then somehow the glory will return.

Today I was reading in 1 Samuel 6... In it there is the account of the return of the ark to Israel. Basically God had dealt so severely with the Philistines that they returned the ark of their own free will. They set the ark on a cart let by cows and they even said, "And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall now that it is not His hand that struck us- it happened to us by chance." (1 Sam 6v9).

The record continues: "Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went [I like that - even the cows were praising God], and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left." (1 Sam 6v12).

When the ark arrives in Israel, do we find them seeking God, preparing armies to go and get the ark? No - "Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley..." (1 Sam 6v13). Yes, they were delighted to see the ark, but they weren't seeking.

Had Israel sought God? No. Had they fasted enough to get the blessing of the ark returning? No - they were gathering the harvest! Were they holy enough? No - 1 Samuel 7 tells us that Samuel told them to put their idols away - they were still worshipping other gods.

And yet still God allowed the glory to return!!

And this is the point:

God needed no help to bring the glory back to Israel. The glory returned completely unmerited.

While I myself seek God, I want His glory, I want to see His power sweep this globe... I believe we have to get out of our thinking any hint that our merit or performance or praying or anything will bring the glory back.

Now, let's be totally clear, I'm not saying that we shouldn't pray or be holy; I am saying that we must stop right now putting our trust in these things and start believing that God brings His glory because He is God and He is good, not because of any merit we have. I would go further and suggest that the more we actually believe God and stop offering him our pathetic efforts, the greater the weight of His glory will be upon us. He says in Isaiah that He will not share His glory with another. He will not, He cannot, share His glory with this or that church leader who has organised this or that rally. He cannot allow us to say "it was because of our prayer meetings, our faithfulness that the glory has come."

There is no barrier to the glory coming!!! Do you keep stumbling and falling? That is no barrier to the glory coming. Do you keep failing? That is no barrier to the glory coming. Do you feel 'I don't pray enough'? That is no barrier to the glory coming. Do you you feel that your heart is too cold? That is no barrier to the glory coming.

A few weeks I had this revelation:

"Under the old covenant we had to chase after God; under the new covenant grace God chases after us."

And all that is required to connect with this glory is faith... in the finished work of Jesus and the perfect gift of righteousness.

In 1 Samuel 6v19 the people looked into the ark and many were struck down. The legalists look at that verse and say "see, they weren't holy enough to look in the ark and so God struck them." They go on to say "ah well God doesn't send the glory because we are not holy enough and we couldn't handle it." Rubbish!

The people weren't struck down because they weren't holy enough, they were struck down because they were looking unprotectected upon the law of God. They were judged as sinners by the law and received the just punishment of the law. They could have been holier than every church member in the world and they would have still been struck down because the law demands perfection.

But when Jesus was nailed to the cross, every written requirement against us was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way (Col 2v14). There is no record against us, there is no finger of accusation - perfection has been given freely as gift in the righteousness of Christ.

As soon as we stop looking at the list of accusations against us and stop trying to grab the glory through our performance, then I believe we will see the glory coming at His initiative... maybe through unusual means (the moo-ing cows in 1 Sam 6 weren't expected).

When we stop trying to contribute our glory, then He is free to send the tidal wave of His glory.

How long should we bear our guilt?

2009-04-02T21:51:00.003Z

I was reading Numbers 14 this evening, the tragic history of Israel's unbelief and failure to enter the promised land. They were condemned to spend 40 years in the wilderness. God said, "According to the number of the days in which. You spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection." (Num 14v34).

I felt prompted to ask God a simple question, "Under the new covenant, for how long should we bear our guilt?" God gave me a simple reply, "For NO TIME AT ALL."

Many believers sadly live under mindset which means that after they have sinned, they live under a sense of condemnation and God's displeasure until enough time has passed for the sting of guilt to fade a little. I've been there! In the past, I have spent days and days after each and every failure, bearing my guilt! I need to say, that such a mindset is old covenant and, since Jesus has borne ALL our guilt for ALL our sins - we do not need to bear guilt even for a moment - even for a nanosecond!

To be brutally blunt, the mixed law/grace culture across the church grades sin, so we are used to feeling guilty for different periods depending on our sin. So if we lose our temper we might feel bad for half a day, or a day if it was a really bad blow-up. If we used bad language when we lost our temper, the guilt time might be a bit longer - two days perhaps, or a week if another Christian heard our bad language.

If we tell a little lie, then we feel bad for a day (or more if it is worse). If we gossip, we might feel bad for an hour. If we look with lust at someone, we might feel guilty for an hour or so; if we fantasise overmuch, we can feel guilty for a day or so. If we glance at porn, then the guilt is two days, if we masturbate then it's a week. Why are we wasting our time, burning ourselves out, punishing ourselves, when Jesus has already borne our guilt and our punishment?

Later on this evening, in our men's meeting, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart, "there are people who are backslidden today because they have borne their guilt for over forty years." This is tragedy, and the cause is legalism. Think about your own experience for a moment - under law when you fall, guilt comes, guilt causes you to lose sight of the Lord, you no longer feel His tangible presence. After a while the guilt does pass, and you feel you can approach God again. That was the reality for the first 18 years of my Christian life. I believe that for many, if this becomes the norm, discouragement grows, sin grows, guilt grows, and the sense of distance from God grows, and backsliding is only a matter of time. Why go to church and have guilt reinforced week by week, line by line, precept by precept?

And I believe there are many people who once were in the church and are outside now, not because they are "great sinners", but because they have borne the accumulated guilt of years of condemnation.

Every single believer needs to be able to answer this - whether you are walking actively with God today or whether it is years since you have been in His presence - how long should you bear your guilt? NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!

Why waste time carrying something that Jesus carried for you? Declare war on guilt, revel in grace, and drink deeply of His presence. God's not looking for you to jump through hoops to impress Him - He's already totally impressed and delighted with you, and will be forever.

What do you wish?

2009-03-07T10:37:00.000Z

This post has its origins in a prophetic text I received from Dan in mid-January. This was what he said:

"What do you wish queen esther? What is ur request? It shall be given to u, upto half my kingdom!! What do u wish peter day? What is ur request? It shall be given u! Ask of me and ì will give the nations to u! Ask - becuz u are most dearly loved! Ask becuz i am besotted wiv u! U have asked, wept and prayed - now wait. Wait as the eagle poised on the edge of the cliff waiting to soar, waiting for that gust of air! Be still, soak, now that i am ur father, ur daddy. Know my love!!"

This was so timely. Firstly, in our church 2008 was a year of great blessing mixed with great battle. On the one hand, in July 2008 we had our first baptism service in three years. They were long and dark years for me personally until, during my illness of 2007, God began to break through into my life with the message of grace.

Light began to shine at the beginning of 2008 as I began to preach grace, and it was with great joy that three people were baptised in July - all of whom had been in church for a while, but God had taken hold of them in a mighty way. Then, in September 2008, seven more were baptised - glory to God!! And then two more in January 2009.

But... At the same time as this, we were losing key people. Some, sadly, because we were preaching the amazing grace of God, the free gift of His righteousness and that nothing, absolutely nothing, can remove us from our standing with Him. I've blogged a bit about grace too, here.

So, Dan's text was a real word of encouragement for me personally. Then, secondly, the text came on the day of our first elders' meeting of 2009. So I shared it with them and that stirred us up to prayer and brought real encouragement after all that had gone before.

Thirdly, God began to stir up a message in my heart from Esther 5. I shared my notes with Dan and he encouraged me to publish these notes (after my very long silence in the blogging world). So here they are:

Esther 5

This passage a real historical thing, but also an illustration. The book tells how Esther, a Jewish young woman becomes queen of the Persian Empire. Esther is an orphan who is cared for by her uncle Mordecai. But the king has an evil prime minister, Haman, who struts around and is annoyed because Mordecai won't bow down to him. So he tricks the king into signing an order for all the Jews to be killed on a certain day. Mordecai pleads with Esther to go into the king in order to plead for her people, but Esther knows that anyone who goes into the king's presence without first being invited risks death.

We have urgent needs, personal, as a church, national, international, but you only need to read the Law of Moses to see that no-one can go into the presence of God at any time. The holiness of God would burn up anyone who tried to draw near. Only once a year the high priest could go with the blood of a lamb.

Our problem is that many believers still deep down have that view of God - we can't approach Him, He is so holy, especially if we have not been very spiritual or we have sinned. But this historical record is a glorious picture that you CAN draw near, and you CAN ask for great and mighty things.

I) Fully attired

Clothed. "Esther put on her royal robes"(v1). We can imagine they were beautiful, made her attractive, so the king would notice her. Didn't go in her rags but as royalty.

But where did these robes come from? Did Esther work for them, make them with her own effort? They were the king's robes, given by the king to her. And so it is with us. We don't enter presenting our deeds and performances, we enter because HE has provided for us robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61v10, contrast Isaiah 64v6). What are they like? As those on their wedding day - spotless, radiant, beautiful.

Why put on? Not a perfect illustration because the robes are always on! But, if we are not aware of them, and do not remind ourselves of them, then we will be under condemnation, and will not draw near boldly and will have no confidence that we will receive anything.

But we ARE fully attired, fitted for His awesome presence.

II) Fully accepted

The king was facing the doorway (v1). Anyone who came in would be seen. Remember the legal position - no-one could not enter unless summoned. The king was waiting to judge, to punish anyone who drew near. And that is the view many have of God - many live with a continual sense that God is waiting to punish every misdead. Not a reverential fear, but a terror of God. That was the legal position - against the law of Moses for anyone to come into the presence of God. Certain judgement was the result for anyone who did not come in rightly.

But now in Christ, it is completely different. You are clothed in robes provided by the King. And He is waiting for your call, approach. He is eager to see you, for you to approach Him.

The king sees Esther (v2). When he saw her, she found favour in His eyes. At that moment of seeing, there was favour. He didn't have to think about it and wonder if He would accept her, rather, His acceptance and welcome was instant. You do not have to convince God of your worth to stand in His presence. You only have to convince yourself. The devil knows it, God knows it, but we tend to stay at a distance because we don't fully know it. This passage says "when" the king saw, she found favour. When the King of grace looks at you, you find favour in His sight. You haven't got to do anything, you have that favour because of being in Christ. That is the reality.

The OT priest had to go in with the sacrifice, the sacrifice had to be perfect and without spot or blemish. There was that question that would have been in the mind of every priest - will God accept the sacrifice? There is no question when you go into the presence of God - the full and complete sacrifice had already been made.

III) Fully authorised

The sceptre (v2). This is further indication of acceptance. It is the symbol of His kingly authority. He is holding out to say "come in", and what I have I give to you, you are welcome here. She would have come in and touched it, maybe even kissed it, and so indicating "yes, I accept your welcome, I receive your authority". You don't crawl into the presence of God saying "please accept me." You come in boldly because you are a son of God already, you are accepted already - Jn 1v12 (right = authority).

Not only correctly clothed, and found favour, but fully authorised to stand in His presence and that authority lasts for all eternity...

And she is authorised to ask for anything. What do you wish?

"Half the Kingdom."(v3) The king used a phrase to Esther which was saying, "I offer you the maximum." I'm giving you all I can, I'm willing to give you anything.

The maximum this king could give was "up to half the kingdom." But with God there is no limitation. He owns it all, the nations are His (Ps 2v8), the earth is His and all its fulness (Ps 24v1). So there is no limit to what He can give you.

So....

So what are you going to ask for? Healing, provision, encouragement, refreshing, for your family members that are not saved, for your neighbours. What are we going to ask for as a church? For the transformation of the community, for the filling of these buildings with people who are being delivered? Lives being turned around? For the glory of God to be seen? What is your wish? What do you desire?

And this is the promise of the new covenant - Rom 8v32. The Lord is better than this king. This king is just a shadow. The substance, reality is in Christ - and far far better. He is infinitely more desirous to bless, infinitely more accepting, allow infinitely greater intimacy with Himself. This is God.

What is the hindrance? You can go in there even without asking anything, just to be and enjoy His presence. You are accepted, you have His favour, He is pleased with you, He likes you, He loves you. And as He is pleased with you, you can ask Him things, because His whole heart for you is "what do you wish?"

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know." (Jer 33v3)

Revival isn't new!

2008-06-10T08:10:00.003Z

I am not the most disciplined reader, and my wife reminds me from time to time of the books I have started and not finished. A few months ago I started George M Marsden,Jonathan Edwards - A Life. I stopped and, just this week, started again.

Given the various comments that have been made concerning the work of God in Florida (both for, against, and indifferent), I found it very interesting to read of some of the things that happened in one of the revival seasons in Northampton, Massachusetts. We are not qualified to say whether Edwards would endorse or reject the Florida Outpouring, but it helps to see that revivals, visions and manifestations of the Spirit are not new.

Healing

Marsden writes:

"One of the extraordinary manifestations of revival fervor was that illness almost disappeared from the town."

Now Marsden does add -

"Edwards did not cite this verifiable phenomenon as evidence of the validity of the awakening. Rather, he mentioned it only as a providence in which Satan seemed to be restrained for a time."

Whatever Edwards' interpretation of the events, the fact is - they happened!!! Today we long to see healing on this scale - whole towns, even cities, transformed by the gospel of grace and where the smile of God is such that illness almost disappears!

Many saved

"Edwards could not be sure how many would prove in the long run to be savingly converted, but he had good hopes that within a three-month period 300 townspeople had been so changed... The awakening was especially extraordinary because it affected 'all sorts, sober and vicious, high and low, rich and poor, wise and unwise.'"

We don't need to have low expectations of the working of God - one saved here, one saved there. No - God sent Jesus not to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through Him. Many saved is part of revival. Many saved is God's purpose for the end of the age.

Great criticism

"New England's Reformed clergy, reflecting something of the spirit of their 'enlightened' times as well as knowing of recurrent excesses within their tradition, were deeply suspicious of 'enthusiasm', by which they meant undisciplined religious fervor. Word spread that the extraordinary transformation of Northampton was just such a fanatical outbreak."

Critics are there in every move of God. Critics were present with Jesus. Critics were present when Peter, and later Paul, preached to the Gentiles. Critics were present when the lone few stood up in the church and declared the deity of Christ in the fourth and fifth century. Critics were present at the Reformation. Critics were present when Whitefield and Wesley proclaimed the good news in the streets and fields.

Interestingly, it is often those who profess to love the Reformers, Edwards, Whitefield, who make the strongest critics of any move of the Holy Spirit today. It seems we are happy to read about God moving in bygone years, but are quick to oppose anything "unusual" in a move of God today - and so reject the move totally. There were imperfections in all these great leaders of the past (Jesus excepted, of course). There were excesses. But God was moving, people were being saved and healed, and families and societies were being delivered from the powers of darkness.

Unusual manifestations

"Timothy Cutler, now an Anglican rector in Boston, wrote to a friend in England: ' The Calvinistic scheme is in perfection about 100 miles from this place. Conversions are talked of, ad nauseam usque {I don't know what that bit of Latin means :) }. Sixty in a place undergo the work at once. Sadness and horror seize them, and hold them for some days; then they feel an inward joy, and it first shows itself in laughing at meeting."

Edwards did comment that some of the ridicule of others were great misrepresentations, so we are not certain that this record of laughter was accurate, or an exaggeration (just a thought here - critics picture the most extreme thing that happens in any move of God, and then speak or write of that as the norm, and so the work is of the Spirit is spoken against on the basis of exaggerated allegations of unusual things that rarely happen, while the reality of the work of the Spirit in saving, healing and delivering is ignored).

Whether Cutler was exaggerating or not, it is clear there were some unusual manifestations. Of course these things aren't proof that God is working - but every move of the Holy Spirit leads to a reaction - some godly reactions and some fleshly ones. I've been told that "all this shouting in revival is irreverent." So the 3,000 in Acts 2 crying out for salvation were irreverent?? There are always manifestations when God is at work. Let God be God!!

Yes, we should use discernment - Edwards did-

"In a few instances Edwards' parishioners had visions that he found 'mysterious' and did not know how to evaluate. Nonetheless, he took great pains to teach them the distinction between true biblically based experiences and undisciplined imaginations."

So even with his great mind and teaching Edwards could not explain everything!! Yet he taught how to discern. We have scripture, we have the Holy Spirit who guides into all truth. Under the power of the everlasting God, it is perfectly reasonable to fall, weep, laugh for joy, shake. In fact it is unreasonable for nothing to happen! Let God be God - and ask Him to guide you! He will - He is good!!

Contagious!

I find it incredible that one of the main criticisms of Florida, and indeed Toronto, has been the fact that people come and then the same things break out in their home churches. We're told "you don't need to go and 'get' revival. God is sovereign, He can send revival to your church." Of course, He can, but revival IS contagious. Marsden writes:

"Northampton's revival fervour was contagious. Skeptical visitors would come to the town and leave impressed or even greatly concerned for the states of their souls. When the court met in Northampton in March 1735, just as the revival was building towards its height, many visitors were deeply affected by seeing the remarkably altered state of the town.

By this time the revival was spreading through the Connecticut River Valley and as far as New Haven and the coast of Connecticut. In many cases, Edwards believed, these awakenings resulted from direct contacts with Northampton."

Whether from direct contact with Florida, Hong Kong, Africa, or a direct and new work of the Holy Spirit - let the glory of God come. Revival isn't new! More, Lord - today!

Revenge against the spirit of accusation

2008-04-11T15:30:00.004Z

I have recently finished listening to Rob Rufus teaching from Dubai on grace from 2006. They are awesome teachings, and I strongly recommend them, and they can be downloaded for free (click on the link and then scroll down to 2006 and you will see Rob's name, then click on download)!

Towards the end of the message, Rob, in applying the parable of the prodigal son, spoke with passion about how actively standing in the truth of the finished work of Christ sets us totally and completely free from the spirit of accusation and condemnation. Condemnation locks up, grace sets free - not to carry on sinning, but to live in freedom from guilt and freedom to be holy.

I am about to go on holiday (for a week), so I thought I would leave this quote behind, and I encourage you to let the truth impact you and liberate you. Blessings in abundance to you. Over to Rob:

"Satan hates for us to find out about grace, but the Father has prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies, and the best thing you can do to take redemptive revenge against the evil one is to enjoy the feast; dance, celebrate.

The day you feel least worthy to praise God, that's the day to come like a prodigal into the Father's arms with the first robe, the ring on the finger, the sandals on your feet, and say, 'I'm going to glorify the mighty work of God at the finished work of the cross, where He triumphed over principalities and powers and disarmed them openly at the cross, took away the rules and the regulations at the cross and cancelled them, and forgave all my sins past, present and future. And even though I haven't been perfect this week, I'm going to eat of the table of blessing in the presence of my enemies cos my Father gave me this robe, my Father put His arms around me, my Father ran to me; I didn't run to Him, He ran to me, He sought me out, He gave me the grace, it was His initiative!'

If God is for you, who can be against you? It is God who justifies, who is it that condemns? We're gonna celebrate, we're gonna praise, we're gonna dance because it is God the Father who initiated this feast in the presence of my enemies.

Revenge against the spirit of accusation."

Before moving on in his message, Rob concludes with this sobering challenge:

"And friends, if you do not maintain and sustain an agressive attitude to the spirit of the older brother; unless you sustain an agressive attitude against the spirit of accusation, a move of grace will dwindle within weeks."

Let's not allow grace to dissipate into accusation and condemnation. We do sadly fall, but we don't have to allow accusation to keep us down - be it accusation from our own thinking, from others who would want to draw us back to some form of law and regulation, or from the enemy and his hosts of hell.

Let's stand, without giving in even for a moment, in grace. Please don't read this and start saying "that's a licence to sin". It's not! It's simply a licence to be free from guilt and condemnation, and in that freedom to enjoy God, to bask in His presence, to encounter His glory, to be changed, and to walk in fruitfulness.

What Happens If We Sin?

2008-04-08T10:38:00.004Z

At the moment over on Life on Wings, a couple of posts have led to some important discussion in the comments, about both the source of holiness, and also about whether our experience of the power of God is linked to our purity.

I don't really like quoting my own sermons at length - there is plenty of quality teaching available on blogs and sermon downloads - but I feel prompted just to copy into this post my notes from a message I preached back in February entitled "what happens if we sin?" It's a far from perfect message and I am still learning loads about grace - every time I open the scripture, fresh things are hitting me about the extravagant grace of God - but this message is a start, and I hope some find it helpful.

Anyway - here goes (please excuse the note form!):

Text 1 John 1:5-2v1

Last time we looked at propitiation as part of our series on building the kingdom. Looked particularly at two verses: 2 Cor 5v21, Heb 10v14. Established that we have been made perfect forever. But does that mean that, for example, upsetting another person (and grieving God) doesn’t in fact matter? Does it mean that sin doesn't matter?

Does it make us less perfect in God's sight? No! Does it matter? Yes? Why?

I) Why sin matters

God saved us to be like Jesus (1 Jn 3v2-3). So if we don’t, we are missing out.

It is part of the old life (Rom 6v1-7). We don’t do the things that we are formerly ashamed of. It is very interesting the way Paul argues. He says, that is what you were (1 Cor 6v10-11). Or because of these things His wrath is coming upon (not you) but the disobedient (Eph 5v5-7). Why does sin matter, because it is living as if you have not been transformed. You have been transformed, you are saved and you are perfect, but sin is living like the world from which you have been gloriously delivered.

Continual sin can lead to bondage (Eph 4v25-7). Anger and bitterness, and habits can become strongholds.

We have been given the Holy Spirit. We are told “do not grieve Him.” (Eph 4v30). It doesn’t say “do not anger him”, because His wrath is satisfied. But we can grieve Him. Not breaking His law, but His heart.

As we grow in love for Him, sin becomes more and more unacceptable because He is our Father, and we want to please Him (Rom 5v5, 2 Cor 5v14). You are in a relationship, so you feel His grief. That is the gracious work of the Spirit in us.

Remember, nothing changes our standing, reduces His love, or makes us less righteous in Him, nothing can banish us from His presence, from serving, from praying, from being fruitful – because we are the righteousness of God in Him. Yes that sounds outrageously too good to be true; it almost sounds like a licence to do what we want. But actually, that is the logical conclusion of the gospel. Rom 6v1. Commenting on this verse, Lloyd-Jones says that if our preaching does not lead to this question being asked, then we are probably not preaching the gospel properly.

But Paul’s response is not – of course you shouldn’t sin, remember that God will judge you if you break the commandments. Instead he says – of course not, don’t you know that you have died to that old way of life?

So sin matters. I don’t want to sin, because I have been saved for better than that. I don’t want to sin, because I love Him. I don’t want to sin because it grieves the Holy Spirit.

It’s also important to see to see that the Bible warns us that we will sin. If we say we do not sin then we make Him a liar. On the other hand, the passage says “if you sin.” It’s not contradicting, it is simply expressing a paradox. A paradox is two things that can both be true even though they seem to contradict. It is true that we sin, but sin should be diminishing. So he says “you are not without sin” on the other hand our expectation is not “when we sin”, but “if we sin.” And if we do sin, we have an advocate who speaks in our defence. Who declares over every single sin – “not guilty”. Not “father have mercy” upon them and be kind to them, but “Not guilty” because of the finished work. Because He is a propitiation, He is the One who has turned aside the wrath of God, and satisfied it fully.

In OT, at the Passover, the angel of death examined the blood, not the performance of the occupants in the house. When someone brought a sacrifice, the priest examined the lamb, not the person bringing the lamb. Our Lamb is perfect!

Nothing changes your standing, but I’m writing so you will sin less, and less and less. But if you do, take courage. Nothing changes your standing.

That’s the foundation. But what does happen if we do sin? What do we do? Do we just ignore it and carry on, or do we need to respond, to change, to repent?

But actually there is another question we need to ask first:

II) How do we know what sin is?

God’s word. A sword. Double-edged (Heb 4v12-13) – to bring on the one hand challenge, and on the other hope. It is that which exposes the intents and attitudes of the heart. It is the light of God, and as we read it, and meditate upon it, we are shining the light on our heart. A lack of the word can de-sensitise us to sin. We haven’t got the light on. We are fumbling and lost and just simply floundering around. And if we hide it in our heart, we will sin less (Ps 119v11)!

The Holy Spirit. Sense His grief. Walking by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal 5v16). So, as we walk with God, the Spirit will be our guide. His gracious voice, whether we hear it audibly, or simply a touch in the heart, a check, a sense of being unsettled, a lack of peace (Col 3v15). You know. You are no longer walking in agreement (Amos 3v3). He hasn’t left you, but there is a lack of agreement. Feelings that He has left you, are of the devil. He cannot leave us. We are the righteousness of God in Him. If we start thinking He has left us we have moved out of grace into works. We have moved to a place of saying well I need to do something to get the presence of God back. Do something? Jesus was asked “what must we do”. Paul was asked “what must I do?” And the answer in both times was “believe”. No, we do not have to do anything to have His presence in our lives, we are not saved, nor are we kept by our works. But when we sin, we have grieved Him, we are out of step with Him. He is still there, He still loves, He is still a friend that sticks closer than a brother. But we have stepped out of agreement, and so we know that things are not right.

So we know sin, by the Word and by the Spirit, and usually both. God has highlighted sin in our lives. Not to condemn us – the Bible says there is now no condemnation. And how can there be any when the handwriting has been wiped away? No, the work of the Spirit in the believer is to sanctify us. He is changing us, and so He is highlighting the sin in order to bring about that change.

III) So what do we do?

1. Confess

1 Jn 1v9. “To forgive” does not mean eternally forgive, because what happens if we sin and then fall under a bus. It is not eternal forgiveness, but a removal of the grief of the Spirit. So the Spirit is grieved, but the moment we confess, then the grief is GONE.

Confess means “to agree”, to acknowledge “God you are right”. Not a long speech. This is another trick of the enemy – “have I confessed enough?” It’s not a long speech or a written confession, but simply agreeing with God. It’s a heart thing, more than anything, simply to say from the heart “God. I agree! You are right, I am wrong. I have got angry, I have spoken badly, I have hurt someone.” Confession is not a work, it is simply agreement.

Often struggle because we don’t really confess. We say “I am so sorry, I am terrible, I am such a sinner, how can you accept me.” So the focus becomes us! And we end up with a great cloud of guilt.

But it says here “confess”. Tell God HE is right and you are wrong, without excuses. That’s enough and that moment the Spirit’s grief is gone. The grief has gone because you are now in agreement. So you are walking together. You haven’t necessarily got everything right, but you are in agreement. You have confessed.

If after that there is any sense of guilt, conviction, darkness, unsettledness, replay of the sin – it is the enemy. And you have the sword of the Spirit. “I am the righteousness of God in Him… He has made me perfect forever through His sacrifice.”

Is 54v7-10 – a new covenant promise. The purchase of Ch 53 is shown here.

2. Repentance

Rev 2v5 – do the works you did at first. Change your mind. Seek to walk in the Spirit. It is not walking in perfection, but having confessed, getting back to doing what you should be doing.

Also means getting right with the person you have grieved. Yes, we have sinned against God but we may have hurt others. If we wrong others the word says we need to put it right. Live at peace with all men (Rom 12v18). Paul says “if he wronged you, put to me.”(Philemon 18) He was putting right what Philemon couldn’t. The Lord blesses unity, as far as it depends on us we are to leave at peace.

And you know that if we have confessed to God, it makes apologising easier. Confession says “God you are right”, not “God I’m sorry, but did you see what he did, hear what he said, I was provoked Lord.” That is simply stirring ourselves up to bitterness. But to declare to God that He is right (without any excuses on our part), prepares us to get right with the other person – again without any excuses on our part.

And that is a major step in the healing process. If our apology is rejected, then we have done our part, we must leave it with Him. Then we must stand on who we are --- the righteousness of God, been perfected forever, with the garments of salvation.

Because our advocate is our propitiation, there is no wrath, all is turned away. No matter how great the sin, how frequent the sin, nothing changes our standing. There’s no height in the Father’s glory and the Father’s love that you cannot ascend to because there was no depth into darkness and depravity that Jesus didn't descend to on your behalf. And at the cross Jesus identified with you at your worst so that you could be identified with Him at His best.

So you are free to confess without fear of rejection, or God saying “not again.” You are free to confess and step back into the joy and peace in the Spirit, and continue an unhindered walk.

I had a picture in last home group when praying, just for a moment –everyone clothed in radiant, dazzling garments – and my thought if we could only see ourselves as God see us, we would never be condemned, but also would also not want to sin. You are clothed in spotless garments. Garments that guarantee your standing before God forever, clothing that marks you out as His, and clothing that doesn’t belong with sin. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father – all is covered, all is clean – but our garments have fitted us, not for sin, but for the throne room of God’s presence.

And that is why we stand on the finished work of Christ. That is the foundation for personal and corporate growth.

Some quotes on Romans 7

2008-03-20T14:50:00.005Z

There have been a number of comments on my previous post, concerning the nature of Romans 7. I realise that that I will be disagreeing with many learned people, and so I do not want to present a "final answer" to debate on Romans 7 - rather I just want to share some quotes from good commentators.

"Whatever else, this passage does not describe a struggle within the believer between his or her flesh and the Spirit but rather describes what it is like to be under the Law and in the clutches of sin and the flesh... The absence of the Spirit in this picture affirms that Paul is not describing life under the New Covenant." (Gorden Fee, God's Empowering Presence, p513)

"I do not then deny that Christians struggle with sin - I deny only that this passage describes that struggle. For while the believer continues to be influenced by both 'realms', Paul makes it clear he belongs to the new realm." (Douglas Moo, Romans, p449)

"My own view is that Paul's purpose in the text is not to delineate whether believers or unbelievers are the subject of the discussion. His purpose is to communicate the inability of the law to transform human beings." (Thomas Schreiner, Romans, quoted in Terry Virgo, God's Lavish Grace, p56)

"The argument supporting a reference to Christian experience is exegetical but existential... I agree with those who detect a future deliverance from sin in 7:24 but this should not exclude present victory as well. Believers experience substantial, significant and observable victory over sin." (Thomas Schreiner, Romans, p384)

"I am about to make a statement which is almost certainly to be misunderstood. I make it in order to expand the passage. I shall be 'slanderously reported' for having said it even as the Apostle himself was. I put it like this: it doesn't matter how deeply, how violently you may sin as a believer, you should never again come under condemnation. If you do it is because you have not understood your relationship to the law and have put yourself back 'under law' again... I say again that however much you may sin and whatever the charactter of the sin you must never put yourself back 'under the law': you must never have that sense of condemnation again." (Lloyd-Jones, Romans 7, p10)

The mirror

2008-03-06T19:13:00.000Z

I believe today that the Lord his given me an illustration of the apparent tension between our righteous standing as children of God (2 Cor 5v17) and our sanctification (that is the living out of His righteousness). While every child of God is a saint, a holy one, set apart for Him (we are NOT sinners anymore - the old has gone, all things have become new, 2 Cor 5v17), we do still sin (hence John reminds us "if we sin we have an advocate with the Father", 1 John 2v1).

But what about this sin? While I am beginning to get into my heart the reality that nothing changes my standing before God, I still get disappointed with myself, and I still get disappointed that the testimony of my life (before others) is not as good as it could be.

But today a picture dropped into my heart - of a mirror. We have all stood in front of a mirror. Sometimes you might have been to a fun fair or carnival where they had a "hall of mirrors" with different kinds of mirrors that distorted your reflection. The real you is still the same, unchanged, but the reflected you is distorted.

The moment you became a Christian, the real you became a brand new person. Your old self and ALL your sin, past, present and future, was crucified with Christ (Gal 2v20). You died and your life is now hidden with Christ (Col 3v3) - the real you is clothed with Jesus is all His perfection and glory. A sacrifice was made that made you, once and for all perfect forever (Heb 10v14). You have been justified, declared righteous so that there is NO condemndation (Rom 8v1). The real you now is now the righteousness of God, and you can't get more righteous than He.

But just as 2 Cor 3v18 says we behold Him as in a mirror, so in 1 Cor 13v12 we are told that "now we see in a mirror dimly." But what is Paul talking about - part of what he is saying is to do with himself -

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall now just as I also am known."

The picture is this - the real you is in Christ - but the way you see yourself, and the way others see you, is like through a mirror. And because we are growing and we still do sin, the mirror is dirty. So people see a weak reflection of the real you - and you yourself see a weak reflection of the real you.

So if you sin, it is important not to look at the reflection and see the failure and attack yourself "look at how bad I am, I look terrible". Remember that the mirror is not perfect yet. The reflection is distorted, it is imperfect - BUT the real you is still 100% righteous.

The good news is that we are being changed from glory to glory. I believe that day by day, the Lord is washing the mirror. He is not washing you - you are already clean - but He is washing the mirror. His glory that is untainted and totally righteous, that is in your heart, that is upon you, is gradually day by day being reflected more and more clearly. The mirror is getting cleaner.

And if we fall, some dirt does end up on the mirror. And we can beat ourselves up and say "well, I've ruined my testimony now, people will never believe now." But God keeps on washing the mirror. Day by day. And we can have confidence that the mirror will become more clean. God is faithful; He has begun a good work and will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ (Phil 1v6).

The real you - equal to God in righteousness - is being manifest more and more. You haven't got to strive to keep the mirror clean, but to rest in who you are. Don't keep looking in the mirror, stand as the real you. And God will clean the mirror. You will see His glory and holiness more and more worked out in your day to day life; people around will see His glory more and more visibly in your day to day life.

This is liberty. This sets free from self-righteousness. This sets us free from people looking at us and seeing a "holier than thou" attitude. Its not "holier than thou" but the holiness of heaven itself, which is already yours as a free gift, being seen more clearly - because God is cleaning the mirror.

So no more striving, no more condemnation, no more looking at the dirt on the mirror. You are in Christ and the righteousness of God, and praise God that more and more that glory is being, and will be, manifest, because God is cleaning the mirror that displays your life to this world.

Life in the Spirit messages

2008-03-06T11:53:00.005Z

A week or so ago, I published a short post from one of Sam Storms' messages from Life in the Spirit.

Someone asked if the messages were recorded. The answer is "yes"!

The messages were all recorded and sold in support of the charity Teamwork, which supports local churches and aid projects, mainly in Kenya. If you would like to purchase any of the CDs, then please contact them directly by e-mail.

To help your chose, here is an outline of the messages:

Session 1 - Sam Storms - Don't Quench the Spirit! A wonderful exposition of 1 Thess 5v19-22.

Session 2 - Clive Calver - Understanding the Times 1. A challenge not to look back, but to move forward. This is not a time for looking back, or standing still.

Session 3 - Dave Campbell - Prophetic Anointing 1. Looked at 1 Sam 16-17, and how the anointing of God enabled David to fulfil his destiny.

Session 4 - Bernard Thompson - Moving in the Prophetic. Some excellent practical teaching on the importance of the prophetic. The headings of this message were: The prophetic is a Holy Spirit Production, a Holy Spirit Provision, needs Holy Spirit Prompting, Holy Spirit Propulsion, and Holy Spirit Penetration.

Session 5 - Clive Calver - Disappointed with Jesus? This was an honest exposition of the the road to Emmaus account, including personal testimony from Clive. He expressed the reality that we do get disappointed, but how Jesus came alongside, brought the scripture, and revealed Himself.

Session 6 - Sam Storms - A Prophetic Church Now and at the End of Time. A truly masterly exposition of Rev 11v1-13.

Session 7 - Dave Campbell - Prophetic Anointing 2. Practical and challenging teaching concerning what the prophetic is. I have posted some quotes here.

Session 8 - Q & A on the Prophetic. Sam Storms answers lots of questions on prophecy and some on eschatology.

Session 9 - Dave Campbell - Impartation of the Anointing. A really powerful explanation of what happens when we are filled with the Spirit, including some hilarious disarming of many of the arguments against physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit. After this message God moved in power and I was just overwhelmed with His goodness.

Session 10 - Clive Calver - Understanding the Times 2. What is this the time for? From Acts 28v17-28 - it is a time for expansion, retaining hope, when the church will be spoken against, and for witnessing. We were challenged to build into the next generation, and not to stop witnessing. He wants to take us beyond renewal. If God sets fire to the church, we can set fire to the community and then to the nation. Don't let it stop with us.

So, if you would like to hear more, do get in touch with Teamwork. If you have Outlook, then this link should put "Life in the Spirit CDs" in the subject line; if not you will have to put it in manually. Happy listening!

Indescribable

2008-03-06T09:46:00.006Z

This amazing video was shown at the Life in the Spirit conference. Just let your heart be free and worship Him who is indescribable.

{HT: Already Not Yet.}

An answer to cessationists

2008-02-27T14:35:00.004Z

This morning at the Life in the Spirit Conference, Sam Storms gave a masterly outline of Revelation 11. He said some amazing stuff, which I will publish in another post, but there was one application to the "debate" with cessationists that Sam shared almost as a parenthesis to the rest of the message.

One of the main objections given to the idea that the gift of prophecy operates today is that it adds to the Word of God. So, goes the argument, when the canon of scripture was completed, there was no need for prophecy, because the revelation was complete.

But Revelation 11 tells us that the "two witnesses" will prophesy!!! Whatever your view of this passage, whether it represents a literal two people in Jerusalem, or the church as a whole, there is no question that this passage uses the term "prophesy", and that it also speaks of miraculous signs and wonders.

While our view of eschatology might determine when these events take place (either in the future, or in the present church), these events are taking (or will take) place after the completion of the canon of scripture.

So the Bible clearly shows that miraculous signs and prophecy occur after the death of the original apostles, and after the completion of the canon of scripture. So there is no argument that can say "these things have ceased."

These gifts are very much for this age!

Passion for His presence

2008-02-07T16:00:00.000Z

It seems that almost every time I post here, I am apologising for the long time since the last post! But this time, I have searched my Bible and I can't find any commandment which says "thou shalt blog at least once a week"! Praise God!! Although I am grateful for those of you who take time to visit and I don't want you to be wasting your time checking and finding nothing, I plead for your patience!

Allow me to explain! I am certainly not lacking anything to post! It is simply time!! I could happily sit and post here all day, but as I am responsible for the church here in South East London, that has to be my priority. So I haven't forgotten the blog, there is much I am bursting to say (three more draft posts, and one over at the new blog After God's Own Heart) and it will come out as time permits!

Anyway, last week in my reading through the scriptures, I came to Psalm 84. Verse 4 says (in the NKJV), "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You."

There was a real mistake I made in previous years as a pastor. I was so desperate for passionate worship in the church that I must admit I put pressure on people. Of course, there is a place for exhorting people to draw near to God, but the exhortations had become heavy handed; I was almost looking for a charismatic "form" of worship (hands raised, dancing etc, etc) and (although I didn't realise it at the time) people were crushed. Many were feeling that if they didn't "perform" then they weren't accepted. The horrors of legalism!!
:-(

My problem was passion for a "form" of worship, rather than a passion for His presence. This verse is so key - those who dwell in His house (are tangibly in His presence), will still (other versions say "always", "ever") be praising. Presence leads to praise! Presence leads to passion and delight in God.

Dwelling in His presence leads to effortless praise. Of course we still have to choose to declare His praise, but His presence releases something in us. How can we be silent with such tangible power and glory around us? How can we ignored the beauty of the Lord?

His presence is everything! Ruth Heflin said, "The glory is not in a song - the glory is in His Presence".

Rob Rufus said, "God said to me when I moved to Hong Kong; 'Son, if you will live not to fill buildings with people but will live to fill people with My Presence then I will fill buildings with people full of My Presence'".

This is also a vital promise for our own personal walk. The key word is "dwell". What a wonderful word!! Not "visit" but "dwell". Most of us visit God's presence. We visit in corporate worship, or in our regular "devotions". But this verse says "dwell". And this is the norm of new covenant life. The curtain is torn in two and so we meet God on the basis of His finished work!! There is no work to be done to get in His presence!! We haven't got to be kneeling or bowing or talking in hushed tones. We haven't got to have our eyes closed. We haven't got to be in a church building.

The curtain is open, we can dwell in the house of the Lord. You can be in the house of the Lord at your desk at work, on a building site, fixing a computer, playing with the children, washing up, cleaning the house, digging the garden, walking the dog, going for a run, lying in bed, having a shower, painting a wall, driving a car, anywhere!

And the result of being in His presence - we will still be praising!! Always, anywhere, anytime. Praising in His presence!

Reigning on David's throne

2007-12-27T18:36:00.000Z

What is the relevance of Jesus today? At this time of year, we have looked at the arrival of Jesus upon the earth, and for most people this is the extent of their experience of Jesus. A baby coming to a world of suffering, wars and desperate need. Many turn away because they don't stop to see what happened to this child who was "born King" (Matt 2v2). And many Christians live in deep discouragement because of not seeing where the King is now.

Yet the relevance of Jesus to this desperate world was announced up front, before He was born, by the angel Gabriel:

"[You shall] call His name Jesus, He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David." (Luke 1v31-32)

I spent some time on the morning of 23rd December sharing about this verse with my fellowship in London. I hope these few notes bless you and encourage you as you behold the King upon the throne.

The great expectation

God told David, "your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Sam 7v16). After the years of division, invasion, exile and occupation there was the expectation that Messiah would come and restored David's Kingdom.

Yet the prophecies point to Him being much more than just an earthly King:

"His seed also I will make to endure forever, and His throne as the days of heaven." (Psalm 89v29, see also v3-4, v24-29, v35-37).

"His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed." (Psalm 72v17, and the rest of this psalm)

So the angel's announcement was a declaration that this King has come!

The great misunderstanding

But Jesus did not fulfill this expectation during His first coming.

On the road to Emmaus He made a very important statement - "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory!" (Luke 24v26). He had a path to travel before taking His throne as King. He came - as His name declares - to save His people, not from the Romans, but from their sins (Matt 1v21).

He achieved this through suffering. The scholars of Jesus' day showed some confusion as to the Messiah's likely ministry, some even suggesting two Messiahs - a suffering Messiah and Messiah the King. Yet Jesus suffered to be King.

Messiah had come to shepherd (Micah 5v4), but the sheep were lost (Isaiah 53v6), yet through His suffering, the sheep would be delivered (Isaiah 53v10-12). He didn't march into Jerusalem to kick out the Romans, but marched into hell to strip the devil of his power, the chains are broken, and Messiah has set us free to be a people for Himself (Colossians 1v13-14, Titus 2v14).

And now...

"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'" (Acts 2v32-35).

The King is now upon David's throne, reigning.

The great ommission

What is the relevance of this? A few suggestions:

- Satan is not on the throne, but is subject to Jesus who reigns over all. We need not fear the news, or anything that is going on in the world.

- Every Christian has a King. Satan is called the god of this world, but he is not the god of the believer's world. We have been taken out from under his rule and given a new Ruler who is good.

- As those who have a King, we are a community, a nation, not simply a bunch of individuals doing our own thing. If we truly understood our King's reign as Head over His community, then I believe we would make the community a priority. But we are not a nation of subjects and citizens only, rather we are the King's friends, children, brothers and sisters, co-heirs, ambassadors, witnesses, His army in the earth. Not an army of guns and bombs, but with the Holy Spirit, prayer and the glorious gospel...

- As He is the mighty King, we have nothing to be ashamed of, we need not hold back in telling of Him, and we should expect with faith that the King will demonstrate His awesome power as we declare His word.

I believe that the reason the Great Commission (which flows from His authority - see Matt 28v18-20) has become the great ommission, is because we have forgotten who is on the throne. We have forgotten the awesome power that He has and the awesome promises made in scripture concerning His reign.

While perhaps the Israel of Jesus' days focused on Messiah as King and missed the Messiah who came first as the suffering servant, perhaps we are guilty of focusing on Him as the suffering servant only and missing the fact of His current - and growing - Kingly reign and glory.

The great victory assured

The King's story is not yet over:

"Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end..." (Isaiah 9v7)

"I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion... Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as Your possession." (Psalm 2v6-8)

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2v14)

"The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.' The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!" (Psalm 110v1-2)

He shall reign until the glory of God covers the earth. He is ruling and reigning right now, but right across the earth that rule is being extended as more and more are delivered and brought into His victorious Kingdom, a Kingdom without end.

God is NOT dead

2007-12-21T18:00:00.000Z

Some time in late 2001, early 2002, while most of the Christian church was campaigning against Harry Potter, I was reading the third in a series of three "children's" books. Towards the end of the book, I read the following:

" Will cut through the crystal in one movement and reached in to help the angel out. Demented and powerless the aged being could only weep and mumble in fear and pain and misery...

'It's all right,' Will said, 'we can help you hide, at least. Come on, we won't hurt you.'

The shaking hand seized his and feebly held on. The old one was uttering a wordless groaning whimper that went on and on, and grinding his teeth, and compulsively plucking at himself with his free hand; but as Lyra reached in too to help him out, he tried to smile, and to bow, and his ancient eyes deep in their wrinkles blinked with innocent wonder.

Between them they helped the ancient of days out of his crystal cell; it wasn't hard, for he was as light as paper, and he would have followed them anywhere, having no will of his own... But in the open air there was nothing to stop the wind from damaging him, and to their dismay his form began to loosen and disolve. Only a few moments later he had vanished completely, and their last impression was of those eyes, blinking in wonder, and a sigh of the most profound and exhausted relief.

Then he was gone... "

(Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass, Scholastic, 2001, p 431-2.)

This is the third book in the series that begins with The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights in the UK), which has recently been released as a film. Many believers have called for a complete boycott of the film because of the books' athiestic film.

The above extensive quote gives an idea of the sinister storyline of the trilogy and, while Philip Pullman himself has more recently denied the charges that he is out to destroy God, his agenda is still very clear. This is what the British Daily Telegraph said:

"To the charge that he has set out to destroy Christianity, Philip Pullman has a devilishly smart stock answer. 'Nonsense,' he will reply. 'God died a long time ago.' " (Telegraph, 30 November 2007)

These are serious issues and are a real challenge to the Church and for us to stand up for the truth, but how should the Church handle such things? I have been working on this post for a few weeks now, and so it has come out a little late - but I still hope this is a helpful contribution to the discussion.

Separation?

Is it right to respond with a boycott?

I am old enough to remember the furore over films such as The Life of Brian, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus Christ Superstar, and more recently, the opposition to Harry Potter. I have to ask the question - what does a boycott achieve? Will anyone be saved by a boycott? Rather, won't a boycott simply confirm the suspicions of the supports of the film that Christianity is a bad thing, that the church is a kill-joy and that God is to be avoided at all costs?

Also, won't a boycott leave us completely ignorant as to the real content of the film and of the books and leave us utterly unable to engage in any form of competent discussion with friends, family and colleagues who have watched the film and received its content as the truth?

Engagement?

Perhaps, then, the answer is to make ourselves aware, to watch the film and/or read the books. Certainly, organisations such as Damaris, are devoted to engaging with the culture and writing books and study guides to help equip believers. Al Mohler has written an excellent blog on The Golden Compass. Among other helpful things, he says:

"Christian parents must be informed about His Dark Materials and inform others. We must take the responsibility to use interest in this film to teach our own children to think biblically and to be discerning in their engagement with the media in all forms. We should arm our children to be able to talk about this project with their classmates without fear or rancor."

Whether part of being informed is to see this movie, and read the books, is a matter for each individual parent and pastor. However, I do still have a concern, which was expressed by Dan in a comment on a post of mine back in May: we can end up getting too caught up in defending truth, rather than publishing it. Many books were written against the Da Vinci Code and against Harry Potter. Was that a good use of resources?

I once heard UK Christian youth leader Mike Pilavachi say: "People are sick of hearing what the church is against, they need to hear what the church is for." In our engagement with the culture, it is not simply about saying "no" to Golden Compass, rather it is about speaking, and showing the truth.

So I have one more point to make...

Demonstration

The apostle Paul did reason, but he also demonstrated the power of God. Jesus taught, but he also showed that the kingdom of God had come upon them (Luke 11v20).

God is NOT dead, He is very much alive. Smith Wigglesworth said, "It is the people of God that He will use to make the world know that there is a God."

Yes, we show that God very much alive by declaring with full confidence what He has said, and with the beauty of transformed, Christ-centred lives. But "the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Cor 4v20, NIV). We will demonstrate that God is alive, by displaying His glory.

As Dan shows in a quote from Rob Rufus, believers want to experience God:

“You know the George Barnea Research went to thousands of non-Christians in America and said, “What would make you go to church?”. They said, “If we could experience God!”. Then they said to pastors that this is the number one thing people are asking for. The pastors got all indignant and said, “We talk about God every Sunday!”. But we are not talking about academic information about God but God Himself coming!".

This is the need of the hour. We must follow in His footsteps. God is very much alive - let's pursue Him in the glory cloud, and demonstrate His awesome power.

11 years on

2007-12-15T17:01:00.000Z

Last night I was reading in the book of Ezra and came to this verse:

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." (Ezra 7v10).

I found that I had written this in the margin: "15/12/96. Induction as elder."

That was something of a shock! 11 years ago today, I was appointed as an elder in the church, hands were laid on me and I was given this verse. As I meditated on it last night, I had to ask the question - have I kept that charge? It's a high calling, and I have fallen short in many regards. Yet, as His child, under grace, an anniversary is not a time for condemnation at the failings of the past, but an opportunity for recommissioning for the future. I have fallen short, but today is the start of a new year of eldership, and it is time to stand again on the truths that God spoke over me 11 years ago and to move on.

So what does this verse hold for me, and my fellow elders - in my own church and any who happen to stumble across this blog?

A prepared heart

In an age where so much store in put on scholarship, on reading commentaries, in having exactly the right exegesis before preaching, there is such a danger that the ministry becomes cerebral only. Of course, right exegesis is very important, but simply applying our minds to God's Word, without seeking to find Him, and hear Him, is a fatal danger. We must come to God, and to His Word, with our hearts yielded (not perfect, but yielded).

Ezra took time to be in the presence of God, to set His heart to pursue the Author of the Word. What an important thing! There is no substitute for His presence. No amount of learning, study and sound doctrine can substitute the sweet presence of the Lord.

Mining the truth

As new covenant saints, we can be put off by the term "law of the Lord." But that was a general term for the scriptures that Ezra would have had. We have the whole canon, Old and New Testaments. For us, then, our call is to study His Word - diligently. The NKJV translators use the term "seek the law of the Lord", but in the margin they have the alternative translation "study".

This seeming ambiguity is important, because, while we are called to study and to find what the Bible says and to understand it, there is also a pursuit of God in studying His Word. Studying scripture is about revelation. God speaks. He teaches, and reveals Himself. Time in His Word, means we can plumb the depths, we can meditate upon the text, upon the truth revealed, upon the outworkings of the truth in our lives, and above all, upon the Author of truth and in worshipping Him.

I don't simply want to reguritate quotes from past preachers (however great they may be), but to bring truth fresh from His Word out of His presence. As Jesus said, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." (Matt 13v52)

Obedient to the truth

Perhaps this is the greatest challenge of all! Ezra didn't only set his heart to study, but set his heart to obey. His study impacted, not only his sermons, but his life.

I don't believe the Lord expects us to be perfect in a particular area before we preach on it (otherwise would we preach on anything!), but we are not simply channels of truth. We are vessels whom the Lord has called to pass His Word on. We must allow ourselves to be washed by the water that passes through us and to be nourished by the food that we prepare for others.

I want to allow the Lord to impact me before I preach a particular message; even if I am still "work in progress", I want the process of being changed from glory to glory to be moving forward.

Teaching the truth

It is only at this point that we read about Ezra's teaching. The terms "statutes and ordinances" again go back to the scriptures that Ezra would have had at the time. We have far more, but the terms also suggest Ezra was diligent in his teaching. He applied himself to explaining the whole truth. Paul puts it slightly differently: "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20v27).

We must make sure that we avoid simply banging on about our favourite doctrines. We must also make sure we preach the Word! Not the systematic theology, not the latest opinion from the internet, but what God's Word says, so that we lay a solid foundation of grace and truth in the lives of hearers so that they grow and bear much fruit.

Praise God for His amazing grace

I was speaking with a friend yesterday morning who is responsible for leading a small group. He shared that he had made a number of mistakes, but that God still kept the people! God is so good! When we fall short - even in this high calling - we are not under wrath, but under grace. We are to shepherd the church of God and seek to do it well, but Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and He is able to still carry the churches when we get it wrong.

And the supply of His grace is such that He is still at work in us. As I look forward to my twelfth year of eldership, I go forward freshly commissioned, hungry for His presence, wanting to do the people good, and still learning day by day.

Gathering the church God's way

2007-11-24T16:36:00.000Z

I have been so challenged to read Terry Virgo's latest blog post (HT: Life on Wings), entitled Spirit Inspired Preaching. As a pastor, I have a burden to see the church built - for people to be saved and added to the local church, but also for them to grow in maturity, in love for Jesus, in passionate worship, in joyful service. I long for the church to display the glory of Christ to the surrounding area, even to the nations.

Indeed our church's vision statement is "To see the glory of God in the transformation of lives, of the community and of the nations through the Gospel of Jesus Christ." I know the Lord desires transformed hearts, leading to transformed lives, and I know that as pastor I am called to see the church grow. Yet I don't want to see the church grow by human means. Churches can grow through the force of a leader's personality, or through the eloquence of their preaching, or (sadly) through the application of rules and regulations that people follow thinking that they are pleasing God.

Terry gives a very different view:

"Holy Spirit-inspired preaching brings about an encounter with God that demands a verdict and produces a changed life based on revelation, faith and love, not cold obedience to external rules."

"God’s flock will intuitively hear His voice and respond as truth is fed to them by called and anointed pastor/teachers. Gradually a culture of God-centredness will emerge characterised by worship, faith, grace, mercy, respect, service and the awareness of being an alien people whose fundamental citizenship lies elsewhere (Phi. 3:20)."

The amazing key here is the anointing of God. I believe it was Rob Rufus who said that "God hides His power in His presence". Ern Baxter reminds us that the Glory-Cloud speaks of the presence of the Holy Spirit. So the key to church growth is for me, as a pastor, to be in His presence. That's not a legalistic thing - I can't earn the favour of God as I already have it in Christ - it is simply a statement of reality. God's presence is the place to be - to bask there and drink in the anointing and under that anointing to share with the people so that they "intuitively hear His voice and respond as truth is fed".

Terry goes on to add:

"The shepherd’s ability to feed and be a channel of God’s grace will result in the gathering of a flock. The sheep gather to the gifted anointing of shepherding and thus a flock forms."

If a shepherd is anointed by the Lord, and is a channel of God's grace - then the sheep will gather. They won't have to be beaten into submission by a legalistic declaration that "you must be at every service." Rather they will gather to feed, because God is speaking through the anointed pastor.

That is the kind of pastor I want to be. As Terry concludes:

"God has promised ‘shepherds after his own heart’. May we be the fulfilment of that promise."

A quick definition of theology

2007-11-21T19:14:00.000Z

Yesterday, I read this comment of the puritan William Perkins -

Theology is "the science of living blessedly for ever."

Too much is said today about the need for theological academia. But theology is not about academics, it is about knowing God so that we can live blessedly for ever. And notice he doesn't speak simply of heaven - it is about living now in the blessing of God because we know Him and as we know Him we love Him and enjoy Him.

It is the truth that sets us free.

Why are we so wary of grace?

2007-11-18T15:49:00.000Z

My good friend Dan Bowen has started a new blog highlighting the ministry of Rob Rufus. It's called Rob Rufus - Grace and Glory and contains notes of many sermons that Dan has listened to, including notes from a recent conference Rob had in Hong Kong (which Dan attended). There is some powerful stuff here, and it is well worth a read.

Some of this material, particularly that on grace, has really made me think hard. It has almost made me uncomfortable. Here are some examples from the most recent post:

"In the re-born nature all “have-tos” are off and are transformed into “want-tos!”. We are free! Totally! Legalism tells you that you aren’t free and gives you a price for it."

"The power of the blessing supersedes your weakness! It is bigger than your failings! How much do you really want to sin? When your sin and grace meet in a boxing ring then grace always wins. (Romans 5:19) – I am constantly in an infallible obedience! He perfectly kept the law on my behalf. You cannot balance grace – it is extreme!"

"You don’t change by keeping laws and rules – you truly change in the glory! The Father isn’t interested in behaviour modification but heart transformation and one day you will see victory! (John 16:10)"

"The Holy Spirit won’t leave you because you are perfect forever. Nothing is criticising or condemning you from heaven because you are perfect forever! Once you see this – you can’t get deceived anymore. You need to go on a grace diet!"

I have been pondering on what makes me feel uncomfortable, and I have concluded that it is the total and utter separation of our performance from our standing before God. "You are perfect forever." Somehow deep down, a part of me wants to contribute something. I am used to feeling guilt when I sin. But grace says even when I do sin, nothing, absolutely nothing, can alter my standing in the presence of God and His favour towards me.

Much of the early teaching I received spoke of not disappointing the Lord, of living to a certain standard and not living on "cheap grace" (a phrase which is a complete contradiction in terms, for grace is totally free by definition, the price was His not ours), and while have been exposed to good teaching on grace for a number of years, it still sounds almost too good to be true.

Why? And why am I not alone? Why does Rob's teaching on grace (and also the teaching of Terry Virgo) get met with the charge of antinomianism (being against the law)?

The theological objection

I believe that one issue is theological - what is the purpose of the law to us as Christians? Jesus Himself said "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle, will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." (Matt 5v17-18). So if Jesus hasn't abolished the law, who does it apply to?

Well the scripture tells us very clearly. And, helpfully, Adrian Warnock has just quoted John Piper on this very subject:

“The reason the law is not against the promise is precisely that it was designed not to give life but to hold under sin and lead to Christ who gives life [Gal 3v19-25]. Paul says that if the law had given life, then it would have been against the promise. It would have short-circuited the purpose of the promise to make Christ the basis of life and righteousness. . .

"[He continues stating that 1 Timothy 1 shows us that] to use the law lawfully (v. 8) is to understand that it is designed to lead people to the gospel of Christ and to indict what is not in accord with the gospel. In this way, the lawful use of the law leads to the transformation of the heart through “sincere faith” (v. 5) and thus leads to love, which is in turn the aim of Paul's preaching (v. 5) and the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8). The key defining criterion of the life-change that Paul is pursuing is whether it is “in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (v. 11). Using the law lawfully means using it to convict people of living out of accordance with the gospel. . . .We bear fruit for God (love) by being joined through faith to Jesus, not through the law. That is what the law was ultimately designed to show."

The law leads us to Christ, and it is basis of our preaching to unbelievers to bring conviction of sin and a coming to Christ. The law is not the basis of a believer's relationship to God - we no longer need a school master, but have grown up. We are full sons with the full inheritance (Gal 5v25-26).

The practical objection

If we teach these things, won't people simply do what they want? Won't our churches be filled with people who say "if nothing can change my standing with God, then surely it doesn't matter how I live?"

But that is exactly the question that the apostle Paul brings out in Rom 6v1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" I believe it was Lloyd-Jones that makes the point that if our preaching does not lead to this question then we have failed to preach the gospel properly.

But of course Paul's answer to the question is very interesting. He doesn't respond by saying "of course not, you must remember what the law says." Rather he says, "Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?" (Rom 6v2-3). His response is that - we have died to sin, we have been transformed, and so how can we continue to live in sin?

Rob Rufus puts it: "The Father isn’t interested in behaviour modification but heart transformation."

So much is written with sincerity to help other believers overcome certain sins. I have read the books on overcoming anger and dealing with lust. I have sought to apply the different rules about praying more, reading the Bible more, not looking at this or that. I have read the advice to young women that they must dress in a particular way to help their brothers - and I have in the past given such advice myself. And yet all these things miss the point entirely.

The Father isn't interested in behaviour modification but heart transformation. Rules and regulations cannot help us. In fact, they have the opposite effect. Paul tells us, "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and the neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2v25)

On the other hand, the teaching of grace, rather than causing people to throw off all restraint and to run into sin, sets people free to love the Lord. The awe that the gospel of grace brings has such transforming power that all the rules of the self-help books are simply irrelevant. We love Him. He is the best. I don't need to have my gaze upon things that will stir up sin, why do I need that, when I am free to enjoy the glory? The Father loves me unconditionally. I am fitted to enter in to the Most Holy Place. Nothing else matters.

So grace sets us free.

The personal objection

Such declarations of liberty lead to another question. If we are free from the law, then how do we know what the Lord requires of us. Are there no rules at all?

Romans 13v8 says "...he who loves another has fulfilled the law." After describing the fruit of the Spirit, Pauls says "Against such there is no law." (Gal 5v23).

Our whole obedience to the Lord now flows out of relationship - of love for Him and love for others. We no longer need great lists of rules, we need love! And for every single child of God - "the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Rom 5v5).

Our obedience flows out of our relationship with the Lord by the Holy Spirit - and that is scary because true obedience has nothing to do with completing a list of requirements. We cannot measure ourselves up and say "well I have prayed for an hour each day this week." We cannot hide from intimacy with the Lord behind a list of requirements.

The heart of Christianity is about enjoying God in the Spirit. There are times when the Spirit will shine His light upon things, as Ern Baxter has said - Christ is our advocate with the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the Father's advocate with us (John 14v16). This relationship of love will lead the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives, not conviction or condemnation, but revelation of the Father's purposes for us. These revelations will often challenge our walk and will lead to further changes - because we love Him.

And I believe that I find this the greatest challenge of all - I have been saved, not for a law, but for an intimate and most precious relationship with the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. I have to pursue Him, rather than satisfying my performance mentality, prayer programme or anything else. And pursue an ever closer relationship with Him who loved me and gave Himself for me.

In summary...

So why are we so wary? Well - grace challenges our theology, challenges our practice (we are no longer sinners contrained by law, but born again transformed saints), and challenges us personally - to pursue Him above every other thing.

The glory of being in Christ

2007-11-12T18:59:00.000Z

I have been so helped for many years by the truth that we are "in Christ." It is a term that is used by the apostle Paul to describe our position and blessings as believers (eg: Eph 1v3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 2v6, 10, 13 etc). This is an awesome truth and it is great to stand firm in the truth. We are in Him - clothed in His righteousness, safe, secure, forgiven, elect, precious, the apple of the Father's eye.

Many have written and spoken on these things far more eloquently than I, but recently I saw something fresh that I had never seen before. I was in conversation with a dear brother and we began talking about what we "look like" in Christ. When the Lord looks at us what does He see? Of course, He sees all things for He knows the heart, but He sees us in Christ. He treats us as He would His belovèd Son.

What do the devil and his demons see ? They see us clothed in righteousness divine. Spotless and without blemish - because we are in Jesus. The accuser is silenced by the blood.

But what does that righteousness look like? What does His glory look like? Well we are told in Revelation 1v13-16! Of course, we are not divine like He - but it is His beauty, majesty and glory that clothes us. This is what we look like - because we are in Him!

"...In the midst of the seven lampstands [was] One like the Son of Man,

clothed with a garment down to His feet

and girded about the chest with a golden band.

His head and hair were while like wool, as white as snow,

and His eyes were like a flame of fire;

His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace,

and His voice as the sound of many waters;

He had in His right hand seven stars,

our of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,

and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength."

Our Saviour reigns in majesty, glory and power - and we are clothed in Him. Let us glory in this awesome privilege. Let us fear no demon of hell, listen to no accusation, but enter in awe with freedom into the presence of the One who has clothed us so beautifully and fitted us for the presence of His glory.

The heavens declare

2007-11-07T20:52:00.000Z

One of the advantages of a period of recovery from sickness is that it gives time to read. I must confess that since pastoring a church became my "job", I have not read enough. This was one of the things that the Lord laid upon my heart while I was ill. When I return to work full-time, that is something I have to follow up. In the meantime, I have extra time on my hands to read.

At the moment I am reading Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M Marsden. It is a fantastic biography, an inspiration and a challenge, and so I give it a whole-hearted recommendation.

Anyway, today I attended a fraternal of local ministers in the neighbouring district of Herne Hill. Before we started a couple of the brothers were talking about simply enjoying the splendour of God in His creation - particularly at this time of year as the leaves on the trees turn all kinds of glorious colours.

On returning from this meeting (where I was prayed for and do feel quite a lot better!), I picked up Jonathan Edwards: A Life and continued to read. And I read this, a quotation from Edwards himself (in Miscellany no. 108):

"When we are delighted with flowery meadows and gentle breezes of wind, we may consider that we only see the emanations of the sweet benevolence of Jesus Christ; when we behold the fragrant rose and lily, we see His love and purity. So the green trees and fields, and singing of birds, are the emanations of His infinite joy and benignity; the easiness and naturalness of trees and vines [are] shadows of his infinite beauty and loveliness; the crystal rivers and murmuring streams have the footsteps of His sweet grace and bounty... That beauteous light with which the world is filled in a clear day is a lively shadow of His spotless holiness and happiness, and delight in communicating Himself."

Often we can rush around completely unaware of what is around us. That is particularly easy to do living in a big city like London. It is good to stop, pause and worship. Look around - God made all these things (and yes, there are trees in London). Not only should we be amazed at God's wisdom in these things - but Edwards reminds us that these reflect only a shadow of what God is like in Himself.

He is altogether lovely and delights to communicate Himself - not simply to the mind, but to the heart, to our whole beings. The creation, which declares the glory of God, points us to the Glorious One Himself, who is to be pursued and experienced and enjoyed.

So let us worship God for all He has made, and let us look beyond what He has made to He Himself, who delights to be enjoyed by us.

If it be so, why am I thus?

2007-11-04T16:09:00.000Z

It is with some embarrassment that I return to the blogosphere after an unexplained absence of almost two months. Also, given that this blog is devoted to talking about the glorious extension of God's Kingdom, as the waters cover the sea - including the outbreaking of His mighty power in healing and miracles - it might seem strange to report that my absence has been due to illness - an illness that will not go away (yet!).

A little over a week after my last post I started feeling "under the weather" with a sore throat, cough and tiredness. Within three days this had transformed into raging fever, a constant cough, sleeplessness for nights on end and, when I did sleep dark dreams, where I was being pounded by demons, and I was totally exhausted - hardly able to get out of bed.

Various visits to the doctor achieved nothing, my prayers seemed to be receiving no answer. I had pneumonia, or something very similar, and a whole load of spiritual attack. After two weeks of this, the elders came to pray and anoint me with oil - and I slept!! Properly for the first time in two weeks. I began to get better, but so slowly. My mind and heart were renewed but my body seemed to still be miles behind.

I did get back to preaching for two consecutive Sundays, which was great. But then last week again, I began to get worse. I have now been told I have suspected plurisy (which is inflamation of the lining of the lung) and am awaiting the results of an x-ray.

So that is a brief history of the last seven weeks! I have spent much of the time very discouraged, wondering where the complete healing was that I had prayed for. I had laid hands on myself and rebuked everything I could think of, and I was not fully healed.

I do believe the Lord has used this season to teach me much. In terms of my personal walk and ministry, I have been called back to intimacy with Himself, and away from overdoing activity. I have been challenged to make Him, and not my ministry, the priority. I have been reminded that the Lord tells us to "redeem the time." All these things have been so precious, and worth experiencing the darkness to learn.

But - this week I have been saying to myself "I am still not healed, what is wrong?" During the last few weeks I have been "helped" in different ways - one of which was to tell me that if the sickness is not responding to prayer then I have lost my authority in Christ - so I must not be standing in righteousness. I didn't take such things on board, but such attacks play on the mind.

I suppose the question is - if as children of God we a blessed of the Lord, how can things still go wrong? This morning I was helped by a scripture pointed out to me from Genesis 25v22.

Answered prayer but still a battle

In Genesis 25v21 we are told that Isaac sought the Lord for his wife because she was barren. That prayer was answered. So everything was fine... Was it?

I have received answers to prayer during this season of sickness. I have received partial healings and steps forward, and had precious times in God's Word and a taste of the intimacy that the Lord had spoken to me about. But was that it? Alas no - there was still a battle.

Genesis 25v22 tells us of the battle that followed Rebekah receiving the answer to prayer. There was a mighty struggle within her, and she was distressed. We can experience similar things - both struggles within and without. We receive a new job in answer to prayer, but it is a great battle. We receive a call to a new ministry and it is so hard, fruit is so long in coming. We move to a new location, and we wonder if God has left us. We get married, absolutely certain that God has brought us together with our partner, but it all seems to be falling apart. Or, we receive answered prayer for healing and the next moment we get ill again.

It might have been very easy for Rebekah to wonder if there was something wrong with her. That appears in the question: "If it be so, why am I thus?" (Gen 25v22, KJV). Why couldn't she be like her mother-in-law Sarah - a straightforward pregnancy? Part of the reason is that God simply deals with people differently. We might ask the question - why isn't my church growing like the one down the road? Of course there may be issues that we have to address, but often there is simply the purpose of God. There are lessons to learn, character to be developed, and the mercy of God in bringing us to a place of desperate crying out to Him, where prayer moves from being the formal duty of a Christian, to the desperate need of a hungry and hurting child of God.

The cry of the heart

Rebekah could have prayed, "Lord I thank Thee for Thine omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, that Thou knowest all things, the struggles and ups and downs that Thine providences in my life give unto me. I thank Thee that Thou art always so abundantly merciful. I realise that Thou hast a purpose with this affliction I am suffering at the moment, and I chose to submit to Thy afflictions and pray that Thou wouldst teach me Thy way and lead me in the path everlasting...."

But instead there is a cry of the heart - if you have blessed me, why is it still such a struggle?

There are times when we need to get the politeness which many of us have been brought up on - the lie that it is impolite and reflects a lack of faith to ask God "why?" If we believe that, then we condemn Rebekah here, as well as the psalmist.

God is able to take our questions. He is merciful to hear the cry of our hearts at the lowest point of all. We shouldn't be shy of struggling, but nor should we settle for struggling. We must cry out, and He is gracious to answer. I believe I have received some answers over the last seven weeks that my perhaps more polite and rounded prayers before hand could not receive. I also believe that there are still battles to fight when the answers come, and that we should not be discouraged by a continued fight.

And I believe that the desperate cry of "why am I thus?" is not some major theological heresy, but a cry that the Lord will answer. After all He is good, and His mercy endures forever. He remembers that we are dust and He has compassion upon us as a Father upon His children. He knows the thoughts He has towards us, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope.

And He says we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts. Sometimes the valley is the place where we truly seek.

And I thank God too, that He is the mighty healer. I thank Him for the journey, for the progress towards healing, and for the complete healing that shall come - and the battles that shall follow.

"Who will speak for us?"

2007-09-06T21:27:00.000Z

During my recent holiday, I spent a little time trying to catch up with my backlog of Time magazines. One article I read, How Diana Transformed Britain (from 27 August), contained a very interesting statement:

"Arbiter [Prince Charles' press secretary] recalls a strange, muted, mournful night after the Princess died when he encountered a group of wheelchair users on their way to lay flowers at Kensington Palace. 'They were saying, 'Who's going to speak for us, now?' They had a point. The disabled: who's going to speak for them? The AIDS patients: who's going to speak for them? The drug addicts, the down-and-outs, the homeless, the elderly? She was their voice and drew attention to their plight.'"

Immediately I was reminded of something so similar spoken by the poor and disabled during the funeral of the great English evangelical leader and social reformer of the 19th Century, Lord Shaftesbury. I can't find the exact quote, but it was almost identical. The poor of England said of Shaftesbury - "he was the man who spoke up for us."

This is such a challenging question. In the 19th century, the people who made all the difference were born-again Christians. They were filled with the compassion of Christ, moved by the Spirit of God. Here at the start of the 21st century, many are honouring another who was moved in compassion for different reasons. What Diana did in her public service was not wrong - on the contrary it was very good - but it is a challenge to us today: Where are the Shaftesbury's and the Wilberforces of today?

In my last post, I spoke about the filling the vacuum. This post is really a continuation of that. We need the cloud of glory to fall upon us, but the cloud of glory results in real hands and real feet getting to work, and real tongues speaking out and speaking words of healing.

So often in our society the poor, the disabled, the AIDS sufferers ask the question "who will speak up for us, who will help us" and the answer is left up to nice people from the world. Praise God for the common grace of non-Christians who commit themselves to serving their fellow human beings, but the challenge is surely to the church.

Who will speak up, who will help? Will it be us? We are to be the joy of the whole earth (Ps 48v2). Our Master set the example as He went about "doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil". We have the power and authority, and the call, to follow in His footsteps.

Filling the vacuum

2007-08-25T00:05:00.000Z

I have one more thing that I feel it is right to share before I go away. I'm sorry if what follows sounds "preachy", but it is something that is burning in my soul, so I want to share it. If you are reading, I hope it stirs something in you...

The vacuum

Two evenings ago I was in a community meeting held in our area of London concerning a shooting just up the road from the church and a murder the previous week in the neighbouring district. I came home from that meeting in the evening and turned the news on the TV to find that a boy of 11 had been shot dead in the city of Liverpool. This follows a spate of fatal stabbings and shootings of young people in the UK.

The local meeting was called for by concerned residents. Present in that meeting were the police, elected local representatives, local council officials. A lot was said by local residents, a lot was promised by police and local government. Despite these many words, the word that God gave me was "vacuum." There is a terrible vacuum in our society and that vacuum has to be filled.

Filling the vacuum

There might be many reasons given why young people get involved in gangs and violence, and there is only so much that the state can do to stem the flow of violence. Many ideas were given in this meeting, many fears were expressed. But these things will not fill the vacuum, rather the vacuum will only be filled by the power of God.

I believe that as churches we need to become more engaged with our communities. Salt is meant to get out of the salt cellars, and light is meant to be displayed.

I hope that this post might inspire someone to get involved in their community. There is a danger of being so involved in church life that we fail to engage in our community. Church meetings are very important, but we are not called to fill our lives with church meetings, but to change the society in which we live. While we must have Spirit-saturated meetings, we need to receive God's word, and be drenched in His presence, these things are not an end in themselves.

Moving out in the glory

The purpose of the cloud of glory is not only to make us feel good, but to transform the whole community. We are to be drenched in the cloud of glory, but He goes with us into the highways and byways of the streets around your church and around your home.

We are called to follow in the steps of Jesus, and leave the safety of our church meetings and the fellowship of other believers and get out and engage with those around us and to serve our community. This is not the social gospel, but the glory gospel - as we serve in the power of His presence, people become aware of the reality of the Lord.

We have something that the world cannot offer. God has called us to be the means of filling the vacuum. Society will never be in order until the glory of God is seen. So let us get the light, get the glory in our worship meetings, in our prayer meetings and then let us get out and take the glory with us!

The first step is seeking God, being utterly secure in His grace, and praying that the cloud of glory would fall upon us. The next is being available to the Lord. Like Isaiah, "Here I am, send me." (Isaiah 6v8). And He will open doors.

Imagine meeting with young gang members and having word of wisdom that sets them free. Imagine serving in a homeless shelter and seeing people delivered from the power of alcohol addiction. Imagine serving in a hospital and seeing whole wards healed by the power of God. Imagine visiting the elderly and by the patience and compassion that God gives you, hearts are softened and people come to the Lord. Imagine advising parents from God's Word how to parent, and them seeing the reality of God, as His principles work.

Let us get the glory, and let us take the glory out. It is only His glory that can fill the vacuum.

In remembrance of Me

2007-08-24T23:09:00.000Z

It has been a long time since my last post and I must apologise again. Also, it will be a while until I can post again after today because I am about to go away with the family for a week's holiday.

Firstly, thank you to everyone for the comments and e-mails encouraging me to carry on posting. Sometimes, I find myself busy with ministry responsibilities and sometimes I do suffer from something of "writer's block". I am still reading and preparing messages, but it has never been my intention to simply regurgitate my Sunday messages on here. I usually preach from an outline so simply to summarise my notes might not be a fair reflection of what I actually said.

Anyway, enough excuses. I have got something to share today!

This post has been growing since I led the church in the breaking of bread a couple of Sunday's ago. Most weeks we read, or at least refer to, 1 Corinthians 11v23-26, and sometimes onto the end of the passage. It suddenly and powerfully hit me in that communion service, really a Word from the Lord into my heart, which I shared with the congregation -

"This is not a time to remember your sins. Jesus told us 'Do this in remembrance of Me'. Make Him your focus. Your sins are atoned for. There is no guilt, no condemnation. Remember Him."

Unbalanced self-examination

During my early years as a Christian, the most highlighted verse in 1 Corinthians 11 was "But let a man examine himself..." (v28). I have even been taught (and spoken myself) that communion is a time of reconsecration to the Lord, that around the table, we need to think on our walk with God and the sins that we have committed so that we are convicted and don't sin anymore.

Yet such an approach can lead simply to guilt. The breaking of bread is a means of grace not a means of guilt.

Yes, self-examination is commanded. We don't break bread lightly or casually, we are remembering the Lord. But introspection and focusing our attention on our sins is not commanded. Rather we are told to remember Him.

A correct focus

We proclaim His death until He comes. Jesus Christ and His finished work should be the focus of our attention.

Thus communion becomes a means of grace. We lift our gaze to the empty cross - the place where sins have been paid for once and for all, where the wrath of God was satisfied, so that there is no wrath for us. To think about that, rather than my sins, led to praise, to joy. No more wrath, no more guilt - Hallelujah!

Out of that, communion should no longer a sombre time. It should rather be a time of awe-filled joy. This is what the Lord has done!! Amazing grace, that found me - even me. Amazing love, that has cancelled the debt. Amazing favour, that means I am now a son of the Living God.

What a different it would make if, once we have checked our heart attitudes, that we look to Him. What joy, that the victory has been completed, and, in the words of that old Sunday School chorus:

Now I am free,

He's so good to me!

Church on fire

2007-07-21T12:11:00.001Z

I have been listening to Hillsongs for quite a while now, but yesterday, the lyrics of the song Church on Fire, hit me. Here are the words that spoke to me:

The Holy Spirit is here and His power is real.

Anything could happen and it probably will.

Something very good something good is going on around here...

Anything could happen, and it probably will. This is something that came out in Dave Holden's training track on the Holy Spirit and your Church at TOAM07. If the Holy Spirit is present in our meetings, then we should not be bound by programmes, and the service should be predictable, the same every week.

I wrote this summary in my notes at the conference:

"Meetings were spontaneous. Did not know what was going to happen. Worship leaders do not have authority, elders do. Those don’t know moments (where the Lord has spoken or something has happened that we don't know how to respond - we need Him to lead). Need to have that liberty to flow. Don’t liven up the PA to make it more interesting, ask for more of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit does not want to boxed in, or dominated by anyone. Let’s be those who are out there. A good leader brings people in and then back off. Holy Spirit doesn’t like formality, we are family. He doesn’t like repetition. New things are always coming. Not don’t plan, but plan that is totally committed to the unseen conductor. So we can say at the end, that this is what God is saying to us."

Without that liberty, church can become boring. In many service we know what will happen next (even as charismatics one can be in a situation that we can predicit a certain song will lead to a time of singing in the Spirit, or that we will normally get a word of prophecy after the third song). We need to be set free from that. It's scary, but once the Holy Spirit has His way, we will surely know fresh waves of blessing in His awesome presence.

Please, Lord, do a new thing in our churches!

A publishing landmark!!

2007-07-18T09:10:00.000Z

My dear friend Dan has just posted his 500th post! He started writing around 2 years ago, and there is so much on this site. It is a tribute to Ern Baxter, containing many transcripts of his awesome sermons, plus much, much more. I am so grateful to my brother for his faithful publishing, which is food to my soul, and also for his regular prodding me to continue with publishing on this site.

Dan is currently reporting back from Together on a Mission. His latest post covers an awesome prophecy from Rob Rufus:

"Suicide bombers will be heading to targets when they themselves are hit by the nuclear blast of the glory of God and they will be felled like Paul on the Damascus Road. They will find themselves lovers instead of haters!"

I really believe we should expect such things in the days that lie ahead. Dan's vision and mine (and indeed Newfrontiers) is summarised by Habakkuk 2v14, quoted by David Devenish in his awesome message The Ephesus Mission – Pattern for World Evangelisation (there are helpful notes of this message done by Andrew Fountain).

Habakkuk 2v14 and other glorious scriptures such as Ps 2v8, Psalm 110v1 and Isaiah 2v1-5 speak of what will happen in the days that lie ahead. This was Ern Baxter's vision, that Dan so faithfully imparts through his site.

For a list of all that Dan has transcribed, see the Ern Baxter Archive. I thank God for Dan's contribution to the blogosphere.

Downloads from TOAM available

2007-07-17T10:07:00.000Z

Just to say that the first downloads of the main sessions from Together on a Mission 2007 are available at the downloads section of the Newfrontiers site!

Praise the Lord! I missed the first two sessions, so I'm starting to download now...

We must have Spirit-filled churches

2007-07-12T22:21:00.000Z

Today I have been struck again by the vital importance of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. At Together on a Mission, Dave Holden taught on the role of the Holy Spirit in our church meetings. It was so helpful to hear practical teaching on this. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not optional. They are an essential part of church life. It is not about making church more contemporary, but about the Holy Spirit having freedom to move in our midst. He is the leader. He delights to glorify Christ and to draw us into the Lord’s presence.

Yet nothing of the liberty of the Spirit will happen without the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Dave Holden said, “People move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit with greater freedom once they are baptised in the Holy Spirit.”

In the revival of joyful, passionate worship, joyful passionate people can be drawn into churches, but without them being baptised in the Holy Spirit. It is not enough to build a church on people who have a temperament that means they enjoy a particular style of worship. It’s not about having services full of shouting, dancing, and hand-raising, but rather having God break in. It’s about having God lift us up through a tongue and an interpretation, speak to us through prophecy, to heal and deliver, to give us and awesome experience of His power in each meeting. As Dave Holden concluded:

“If we are a charismatic community it is not about modern and contemporary but about having a deluge of the Holy Spirit upon us. A people being ready to move in gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

For this vision for be fulfilled, the vast majority of church members to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. That means new Christians must be properly taught and prayed for. And for those that have been Christians for longer, we must not assume that they are baptised in the Spirit. We must lovingly teach so that they become fully persuaded that the gift of the Holy Spirit is for them. Moses prayed “oh that all the Lord’s people were prophets” (Num 11v29). God has laid on my heart, “oh that all the Lord’s people would enter into their inheritance and be baptised in the Holy Spirit.”

As each member receives the mighty drenching of God – which is the birthright of every Christian – the church becomes filled with God-saturated people and so the gifts will start bursting out, and we will have the breaking-in of God in every meeting. Glory!

The Weight of His Glory

2007-07-12T07:35:00.000Z

It is difficult to describe the time so far at Together on a Mission in Brighton. I think I had great hopes of posting much, but the things that are happening are difficult to put into words. Dan had intended to post as well, but we are just too overwhelmed with the goodness of God. There are others who are blogging more detail about the conference, and the message will soon be available on the website.

But to just give a flavour…

The presence of God in this place is so heavy. In every meeting we seem to be worshipping before an open heaven. Sometimes it is impossible even to stand in His presence. And much of the worship is about the glorious Kingdom purposes of God – that His reign shall cover the whole earth.

The prophecies are awesome. A repeated emphasis concerns a new day, that God is turning a new page that will see great ingatherings, healing and even people being raised from the dead. There has been a call for spiritual fathers to lead by example and to pioneer new things. I find that a great challenge as a pastor leading a group of people who need to step into new things.

There is amazing, equipping teaching. Not least Terry Virgo’s session yesterday morning on leading people into the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The key thing he shared was the need for truth. The reason many do not receive is that they are confused. Terry didn’t give us methods as such (like some of the false methods of getting people to copy you speaking in tongues) – in fact he cautioned against any such methods. He simply masterfully explained the doctrine and the errors to avoid. For example, the conservative evangelical position of receiving it all at conversion.

Terry said this on Acts 19v2 (“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”): If you received it all at conversion, the question would be like saying, "Were you converted when you were converted?” It was such a helpful seminar.

There is amazing, inspirational teaching. Last night, David Devenish taught on The Ephesus Mission – Pattern for World Evangelisation. He asked, “What is the mission?” The answer is contained in Habakkuk 2v14, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea.” It is so encouraging to hear the restoration vision trumpeted from the platform here!

There is awesome impartation. Yesterday Rob Rufus prayed for lead elders, and also for everyone generally to receive a ministry for healing and deliverance. All I can say is that I could not stand in the presence of God. My hands were on fire, and it felt like my ears had been cleansed. I wonder if God desires to use my hands and to speak to my ears. Our God is an awesome God.

And all of this is a mighty understatement. Words are not adequate!

On the way to glory!

2007-07-10T15:08:00.000Z

Through the wonders of modern technology, I can actually blog on the train on the way to the Together on a Mission conference in Brighton. I have missed the first two sessions because my children were in a school concert, but so far, I have had excellent reports.

This prophecy has been given by David Stroud: "Some have come asking 'will it be worth it?' I tell you it will be worth it. My Spirit is here! Open heaven! It's going to be worth it!"

This is just so exciting. I come in need of refreshing and a mighty encounter with the Lord. I know that He is so willing to give and to refresh His people. As my lack of posting indicates, the battle has been strong, but God is avle to meet every need.

Also, I was reminded at our last Men's fellowship last week of the importance of abiding in Christ (from John 15). There is a danger in all the pressures of everyday life that we fail to abide, we strive for things, even for success in ministry.

One brother shared this, "what we strive to get we strive to keep, what God gives He keeps."

That is a powerful thought to enter into the coming week. I haven't got to strive to receive, just simply to allow Him to pour His blessing into me - and He will keep that which He gives.

Dan will be posting updates from the conference at Spirit of God! Do have a read!

Why did Jesus come?

2007-06-19T11:29:00.000Z

However many years one spends in the Word, there are always new things to find. Today, I have been preparing a Bible Study, and I have compared two passages where the angel speaks of the Lord's birth - and why He was coming.

To Joseph, the angel says "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matt 1v21)

That is a truly amazing verse. It shows us the purpose of Jesus' coming. While He did many things - He revealed God, He was an example, He taught, He went around doing good, He trained His disciples - His purpose was to save us. He came to die to be our deliverer from sin.

To Mary, the angel says something very different "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1v31-33)

He came to die, but ultimately He came to reign! He died in order to reign (Rom 14v9). We must never cease to thank Him for the cross, but we must also never forget the purpose of the cross - to establish a kingdom that will have no end. That kingdom will extend from shore to shore. From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord's name will be praised.

For more about Christ's ultimate triumph, there is some excellent reading to be found at Life on Wings. Dan's latest post, Finale to the "Ultimate Triumph" Series, contains links to three outstanding sermons by Dr Ern Baxter. I hope to have more to share about these soon, but for now read and receive.

Jesus came to reign! Hallelujah!

God's forethought

2007-06-17T19:35:00.000Z

I really am sorry for a long absence from posting. It is ironic that my last post was an encouragement to publish to fuel the charismatic resurgence, and I haven't posted for over two weeks.

Since the last publication I have had some difficult days: there has been a marriage break-up within the church I pastor, which has been very painful; there have been some dark days for my own soul (pastors are not immune); and last week my grandfather died. So it's been quite tough, and while I have things on my heart to publish, the window of time has not been available. I hope that will change within the next few days.

Yet, I want to just share something very brief. It was a word of encouragement from one of the members during the worship time this morning. A dear brother shared with the church "the cross was not God's afterthought, but His forethought."

He went on to read from 1 Peter 1v20: "He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

God wasn't surprised by our sin and rebellion. He knew it was coming even before He made us! And yet He chose to foreknow us and love us in Christ and to save us. The cross was not an emergency rescue package because we had caught God off-guard when we rebelled. It was His eternal plan to have a people for His very self.

I realise that this raised all kinds of knotty questions about why God made us if He knew that the fall would come. I can't answer those today (or maybe never!), but I do believe we can take great encouragement that however dark days become, however often we fall (or however deep we fall), God has no afterthoughts about us - only forethoughts. He loved us even before we did anything good or evil, already knowing exactly what we would do. So He doesn't change His mind or go back on His promises. And in the eternal now of His purposes, He chose us in Christ before even the world was made, the plan of salvation was determined. And today, He holds the future, and He has covered our sins past, present and future. And His love to us is unchanging.

What a great and merciful God we have!

Fueling the charismatic resurgence

2007-06-02T14:33:00.000Z

I have been wondering for a while whether to take the plunge and learn some HTML to enable me to improve websites etc (and even make my blog look different!). I finally took the plunge this week and ordered a book from Amazon. What amazed me is that I have opened the first page and I sensed the Lord stirring me!!

The first words of this book said "The World Wide Web is the Gutenberg press of our time."

Gutenberg was the inventor of movable type printing in Europe. Now he was no saint of God but he was used in the providence of God. Printing was a major factor in fueling the Reformation. Luther's writings ended up all over Europe. Bibles translated into the native tongues of the people of Europe were printed and spread. While many things have been printed in the last almost 500 years that have not been honouring to God, the fact is that God's purposes were advanced by means of the printing press.

Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is also no saint of God - he has ended up in the Unitarian Universalist church. Yet, his invention is being used in the providence of God to bring about a new rise of truth. Again, there is much presented on the Web that is totally opposed to the Lord's purposes. But this is a tool that the saints of God can use, just as Luther used the printing press.

There is undoubtedly a reformed resurgence. It is good that sound doctrine is being written about and read on the web. Recently, there has been writing about a charismatic resurgence. On Spirit of God there is now a list of resources for the charismatic resurgence. This is being updated as more are found so that we can grow together.

Publish!

The point of my post today is to encourage us to publish! All of us who are people of Word and Spirit, let's build each other up. Firstly - read. There is excellent material to be found on any of the blogs listed to the right. Plus others. Find the places where your soul is being fed. Weigh what you read by the Word of God.

Secondly - seek God and allow the Lord to speak to you. As you pray, read scripture, hear His voice, read Christian books, there are things that will thrill your heart. Some of them will just be for you, but others will be to share.

I would encourage anyone who God prompts to begin to contribute to the charismatic resurgence! Let's fan the flame in each other's hearts and fan the flame for revival.

How important is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

2007-05-29T21:13:00.000Z

What a glorious day! This morning I did my usual check of the various blogs in my favourites and found this!

Jesse Philips, newly graduated from the SGM Pastor's College, has given us his paper on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (a college assignment) to read. The title itself - "Subsequence: a biblical-theological defense of Pentecostal pneumatology"- was enough for me to know I had to read it at once.

Over the last few days, since I posted on how important is the Holy Spirit, I have been thinking about the question of the doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. What impact does it have on our experience of the Holy Spirit if we reject the Pentecostal teaching that the Baptism is subsequent to conversion?

Jesse answers this question in his introduction:

"My motive for this study is as follows: the maintenance of a biblically significant charismatic dimension to Christianity. It is not mere coincidence that the Pentecostal revival, to which the contemporary church historically owes much of its charismatic experience, held as one of its main theological tenants the view of a subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit. There is something pro-Charismatic about the Pentecostal view of the Spirit’s baptism, which has a proven track record of producing experientially charismatic churches unmatched by other pneumatologies.

"The Third Wave position, while not at all cessationist concerning the spiritual gifts, and even held by a few prominent charismatic leaders (i.e. John Wimber), has not shown itself to be quite as prolific as the traditional Pentecostal view in producing churches that are able to maintain a robust pneumatology and a distinctively charismatic experience over a long period of time. The primary reason for this is that the Third Wave position has a somewhat cessationist interpretation of Acts. What I mean is that Cessationists and ‘Third Wavers’ agree that what is seen in Acts should not be normative for today. Therefore, since most of the biblical data about the baptism in the Spirit is contained in Acts, we should not be surprised the Third Wave perspective of the Spirit baptism tends not to produce experiences that are quite as charismatically prolific as the Pentecostal view."

In other words, it does make a difference. And it goes back to our understanding of Acts. I stand with Jesse on this one. Acts is normative. We are not only reading history, we are reading glorious examples of how God is able to work with equal power today, through the same means of a people clothed with power from on high.

Jesse concludes:

"I hope that this exploration of Luke-Acts will assist the reader in reading the Bible with new eyes and an expectant heart, engaging the text and engaging God, experiencing all that God has made available through Christ to the believer, by virtue of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May the church continue to suffer the influence of Pentecost."

Amen and amen.

PS: It is interesting that yesterday Dan posted a transcript from Life in the Spirit 1997 - with Michael Eaton and RT Kendall conversing on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. It can be read here.

How important is the Holy Spirit?

2007-05-24T15:00:00.000Z

Jesse Philips' recent post on Charismatic Resurgence Through the Blogosphere is so encouraging. He says:

"I have been encouraged as I started blogging to find out that there are like-minded Christians who have faith for an increase in the miraculous gifts in our generation of the reformed-charismatic church."

I believe, like him, that these blogs can: "contribute to a charismatic resurgence, particularly by increasing people's faith for gifts such as prophecy, faith, miracles or healing."

Further, I believe these blogs can help us tackle important issues in the practice of charismatic life. For example, Jesse has posted on Uninterpreted tongues is not sin. We need to examine things like this together, looking at God's word and seeking the help of His Spirit.

The Philips family are prolific bloggers it seems. I have recently found, Janelle's site and she has done an excellent post, An interesting definition of Sovereign Grace. This post has really set me thinking on the issue of "how important is the Holy Spirit and His gifts?"

Janelle makes reference to a Wikipedia definition of Sovereign Grace Ministries where it is stated on the one hand there is criticism from reformed people that charismatic gifts operate within the movement, but on the other hand suggests (a comment that Janelle soundly rejects) that gifts are not widely sought after.

These things are especially relevant as many seek to find common ground with Reformed Cessationist churches and leaders, for example through Together for the Gospel, and also through local churches meeting together. How should such unity impact upon our charismatic life? Should we downplay it and seek gifts less in the interests of unity?

A couple of thoughts - first on fellowshipping with cessationist churches and secondly on preaching the gospel:

Fellowship

While I am very happy to stand with people from any evangelical church on the vast number of issues upon which we agree, I believe we must be careful not to downgrade our charismatic distinctives - even subconsciously - in order to avoid offending our cessationist friends.

Obviously, we are wise. It would not be appropriate, say, for CJ Mahaney to make an altar call at a John MacArthur Shepherds Conference for people to receive prayer for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, because CJ has voluntarily come to serve under John MacArthur's leadership. But it would also be totally wrong to discourage (or fail to encourage) the expression of gifts of the Holy Spirit because John MacArthur has come to Covenant Life Church.

In our relationship with our non-charismatic friends we must never downplay who we are, although we must respect who they are. It is not our job to convert their flocks to the things of the Holy Spirit (although we might hold private discussions with the leadership). But it is our responsibility to remain thoroughly (and increasingly) charismatic in our walk and corporate church life.

Preaching the gospel

While conferences like Together for the Gospel can be helpful in terms of encouraging and envisioning churches and leaders to the glorious task of gospel preaching, when it comes to actually going out on the streets, or inviting people to hear the gospel, as charismatics we might find ourselves on difficult ground. Why? Because gospel preaching in the Scriptures is charismatic!

Jesus sent out His disciples to preach, heal, cast out demons and raise the dead. Should we hold back on seeking these things for fear of offence to the cessationists? Acts 2v38 ("what shall we do?") is answered by repent, be baptised and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. As charismatics is it right to reduce our gospel preaching to simply repent and believe? Don't we want to see new believers birthed fully into Kingdom life?

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, healing and gospel preaching go together, and they must stay together. God uses healing to awaken people's attention that there's a message to be heard (Acts 3v11).

So, while we pray for, encourage and fellowship with all who love the message of the gospel, we must not downgrade our charismatic fulness, even in the way in which we preach the gospel.

Facing criticism

Janelle concludes her post with this:

"If we are going to be criticized, then it certainly would be GREAT to be criticized for being "too charismatic" than having a false Gospel."

I hope we are never criticised for having a false gospel. We may differ from Reformed Cessationists over the present operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but we and they must stand together on "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

But I think if I wasn't criticised for being too charismatic, I would be worried. Not because I want to go out of my way to offend, but because the Scriptures are clear that charismatic experience is at the heart of church life and evangelism.

God bless cessationists. Many of my heroes of past generations, and some of the present, are cessationists. But the Holy Spirit is, as it were, the dynamite of Kingdom life and we must not limit His gracious influence in anything we do, whatever people may say.

The good old gospel

2007-05-22T15:26:00.000Z

Those who follow Life on Wings will know that Dan is in the process of moving to Birmingham. He has had to downsize his library temporarily and has loaned to me the vast majority of his books to bless me and the members of the church here.

Included in this glorious library is a significant number of Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, and the full six volumes of the New Park Street Pulpit. I have just opened volume 1 of the New Park Street Pulpit. While I have all the messages on CD there is still something special about opening a books.

So far I haven't even got onto the opening sermon because I am intrigued by Spurgeon's preface where he speaks with absolute confidence about the divine authority of the messages preached. I found myself wondering about his humilty! However, on reflection, I find in Spurgeon not pride, but a total confidence in the power of the preached Word and God's promise of the Holy Spirit's enabling as we preach His gospel.

We can learn something from this. We have no need to apologise for the Word of God. God has ordained this awesome means (under the power of the Holy Spirit) for the deliverance of souls, and for the good of the people of God. Let us approach the preaching of God's word (whether as hearers or preachers) that God's Word shall accomplish the purpose for which He has sent it (Isaiah 55v11).

In the light of recent blogs about being Reformed and Charismatic, I have been thinking about the importance of being Reformed. I thank God for the Charismatic resurgence through the blogosphere and look forward to so much more. At the same time, it helps to remember why we stand on being both Reformed and Charismatic. We don't say we are Reformed to try and build bridges with Reformed Cessationists, but because we believe that Reformed theology is thoroughly biblical. In the light of these reflections, I was interested in Spurgeon's comment about Calvinism in his prologue:

"The word Calvinism, is frequently used here as the short word which embraces that part of divine truth which teaches that salvation is by grace alone, but it is not hence to be imagined that we attach any authority to the opinion of John Calvin, other than that which is due to every holy man who is ordained of God to proclaim his truth. We use the word simply for shortness of expression, and because the enemies of free grace will then be quite sure of what we mean. It is our firm belief, that what is commonly called Calvinism, is neither more nor less than the good old gospel of the Puritans, the Martyrs, the Apostles, and of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The good old gospel. Let what we preach magnify the wonderful grace of God. It is by grace we are saved, through faith, and that is the gift of God (Eph 2v8-9). Praise God for His amazing grace.

Hiding in the caves

2007-05-14T17:30:00.000Z

In the light of what has been written by Jesse and Dan, and my own post of a few days ago, I was interested to read in Terry Virgo's book, The Tide is Turning, his comments about Gideon's day, and the generation "...who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel." (Judges 2v10).

Terry says:

"On the whole we too have grown up in a generation that has not seen the mighty acts of God as our forefathers did. We have not seen revivals during which thousands flock into the churches to get right with God. Unlike our fathers we have not known whole towns change, with demonstrations of power and incredible manifestations of the glory of God. The majority of our generation knows nothing of these things so we may closely identify with the Israel of Gideon's day.

"Finding that God was not with them, many of His people simply dug in, living in holes on the mountains. It was even more pitiful than this because mountains are supposed to typify significant places for strategic possession. When they had begun to move into the Promised Land under Joshua the mountains represented the heights of authority and power...

"In a similar way you can either possess a great truth of God or you can dig in and hide behind it... We often take great truths from the Bible and instead of living in the good of them we dig in defensively and hide behind them. The result is that instead of saying, 'God is faithful; let us therefore bring the kingdom,' we say, 'God is faithful; I will defend that truth to the end'...

"By contrast, in Caleb's day, they laid hold of the truth. They argued, 'If God is faithful, as the Word says, let us go and take the land.' Their doctrine was a source of confidence - more a springboard than a dugout!"

Are we guilty of spending so long defending reformed doctrine at the expense of living in the good of it? Doctrine is a source of confidence and strength, but also a motivator to action.

God is sovereign, He is Almighty, He is with us! So let us advance the Kingdom of God.

We must therefore pray for revival - because the Sovereign God hears from heaven. We must therefore preach the gospel because it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, and He is the One who brings life to the dead souls who hear our preaching. We must pray for the sick because it is by His almighty power that healing comes.

Let our doctrine release us into faith-filled action!

Is it right to hold 'healing meetings'?

2007-05-10T18:28:00.000Z

It is exciting to be involved in key relationships with Spirit-filled men in the area in which I pastor. I believe it is vital for every pastor to enjoy such ties of fellowship - even outside their own stream or denomination. We learn from each other and build each other up.

I have had a long-running friendship with Pastor Dennis Greenidge. More recently I have been enjoying fellowship with the pastor of a new church plant in the area - the Beacon Church. Yesterday I met the new pastor of a local Baptist Church (no website yet, one on the way).

During yesterday's meeting the baptist pastor shared with me a vision. He has a passion to hold regular joint meetings for evangelism and signs and wonders - to preach the gospel and to see people healed. He wants to know if we will be involved.

I had a real rise in my spirit about this, but at the same time "healing meetings" is something I have been troubled by. From the beginning of my walk with the Lord I was taught to regard all healing evangelists with suspicion and that continued even after I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. "Healing meetings are not in the Bible," I was told. "Do you ever read of Paul holding a healing meeting? You should just meet to preach the gospel, and pray for healing if you are so led. You can't presume God will heal..."

That's how the argument went. I have to say I bought it. But my dear brother's vision has caused me to re-examine. So should we hold healing meetings?

The first thing I sought to do was to examine what I believe are the two main objections to such meetings:

Objection 1: The apostles never held meetings where they advertised "healings"

Not as far as we know, but they did hold meetings at which healings took place. They taught publicly and from house to house. They preached the gospel, but during various services healings took place (Acts 8v5-7, 14v8-10, 19v11-12).

It became known in Jerusalem that God was healing through Peter and so people sought him out (Acts 5v14-16). The words "a multitude gathered" (v16) point to people gathering for the purpose of receiving healing. They were not, in the first instance at least, coming to hear the gospel, they were coming to receive healing. Undoubtedly they did hear the gospel as well, but the healing power of God was what gathered people.

So surely we should follow in their footsteps and hold meetings at which the gospel is preached, but also where we pray for the sick.

Objection 2: It is presumptuous to declare that there are going to be healings

Wasn't the command of Christ - preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead (Matt 10v8)? While many have argued that miraculous gifts have ceased, one can only do so by saying that the Gospels and Acts do not represent the normative experience. But if we regard these narratives as normal, then miraculous healing is not a rarity but a regularity. We are subnormal!

But if God is truly among the people of God as they gather (as He promises to be), then surely we must take Him at His Word. We can invite people to meet the living God. We can invite people to hear His Word that can change their lives. We can invite people to come and experience His healing power.

If Jesus said go and heal the sick and nothing happened when the disciples prayed, then He was a liar. But people were healed! If He is the same yesterday, today and forever, then His statements are true today. Praying for healing comes as part of the preaching of the gospel. It is part of the kingdom package, as it were. The powers of the age to come have broken through (Heb 6v5). People will hear of the kingdom, and they will experience the kingdom in conversion and in healing.

The breaking in of the Kingdom of God

Having delivered someone from a demonic spirit, Jesus said to the crowds "the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12v28). The delivering power is evidence of God's rule being extended in the earth.

We are living after Calvary, and after Pentecost. We are living in the light of Jesus instructions to His disciples to preach and heal. We are living in the light of Acts which is an account which continues what Jesus began to do and teach - and He is still doing and teaching.

Isn't healing and deliverance a part of the ministry of Jesus? Of course salvation is the greatest miracle of all - because a dead soul is being made alive - but the teaching of both Jesus and the disciples was accompanied by healing miracles. Extending His kingdom is more than simply numbers but also quality of life. Its the rule of God being seen in our souls and our bodies. Therefore praying for the sick to be healed should be an integral part of our gospel preaching.

So we should have outreach meetings where we pray for healing

Having reflected on these things, I must conclude that it is Biblical to hold evangelistic gatherings where the gospel is preached and the sick are prayed for. It is right to approach these meetings with an expectation that souls shall be saved and that people will be healed.

The awesome impact on the healing of the man at gate beautiful, the opening up of the Samaritans to hear the gospel through Philip, the transformation of the city of Ephesus are all testimony to impact of the power of God in signs and wonders to open up a door for the gospel to be preached.

We need this in our day.

Let me close with a quote from Jul in response to one of the comments on Dan's blog:

"I'm beginning to realize that we're not really preaching the gospel if there is not a demonstration of God's power in signs, wonders, miracles, healing, casting out demons, etc... "

Amen!

Terry Virgo has a blog

2007-05-08T18:45:00.000Z

Congratulations to Jul, who has reported that Terry Virgo has a blog - here!

There are three posts so far, but I am sure more will follow. The first post is from South Africa and includes more testimony of God's healing power. The most recent is a great challenge to worship God in the context of action.

Go and see!

Charismatic hypercalvinists!??

2007-05-08T15:01:00.000Z

Years ago I preached at a church in the North-east of England that was looking for a pastor. I can't remember what I preached on, but I do remember being asked by one of the elders about my church background. He said, "So you are from a good reformed church then?" My answer was "Yes, and we are a charismatic church also." The elder looked shocked to say the least!

Now of course, it has become more popular for people to say that they are reformed charismatics. Some do find the two terms contradictory but I find nothing in the Word that says holding to the doctrine of grace mean that you cannot also "earnestly desire spiritual gifts."

It has been interesting to follow some recent blogging on the subject of Reformed Charismatics. Back in March, Adrian Warnock posted on the 2007 Shepherds' Conference, where CJ Mahaney preached and asked the question "what would the church look like in another 30 years?"

An important question! Does being reformed and charismatic mean we end up losing our charismatic or reformed distinctives? Do we become middle of the road - a little less charismatic or a little less reformed - or both?

Since Adrian's post raised such important questions I have discovered through my friend Dan Bowen, a blog called Prophetically Speaking by Jesse Phillips, a pastoral intern at Metro Life Church, Orlando (SGM church). He has posted some excellent stuff, including "Is Reformed Theology inherently cessationist?" His answer is "no", but he issues a challenging statement -

"...although there is nothing inherently cessationist about reformed theology, given its emphasis on God's sovereignty it's easier for charismatic apathy and functional cessationism to set in."

And

"Functional cessationism, for example, is an attitude that says, "If God wants to heal he will" without praying earnestly with expectancy that God will respond to and answer our prayers for healing. We can become complacent though certain gifts cease, assuming that if God wanted certain gifts to be given he would provide some sort of sovereign jump-start apart from any human initiative."

In reflecting and commenting on this post, I was struck that the danger of fatalism in relation to seeking God for spiritual gifts, or for healing, is exactly the same danger that is faced when reformed theology is misapplied in the area of evangelism.

Reformed theology should motivate evangelism

While I don't wish to caricature hyper-calvinism, the impression given is that "the elect shall be saved, we must not offer the gospel to those who are not elect." So active evangelism is discouraged or at least ignored.

In my mind - the elect shall be saved and that is a very good reason to go out and preach the gospel. What better motivation than a guarantee that there shall be success in preaching! Not all shall be saved, but the elect shall be saved.

In Acts 18v9-10, we read - "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no-one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'"

The elect are there to reach, so let's go and preach the gospel to every creature so that the elect will hear!

Furthermore, if we take God at His Word - He commands us to go out! That in itself should be enough! It helps, though, to have the gracious promise that the elect shall be saved.

Reformed theology should encourage seeking after spiritual gifts and healing

By the same token, Jesus told His disciples to pray for the sick! We have the model of the early church praying for the sick! We are commanded to earnestly desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14v1). Isn't that enough?

Simply saying that God is sovereign and will give gifts and give healing if it is His will is a form of hyper-calvinism. If we apply the same logic to the rest of our lives we would not reach out and we would not strive for godliness. God has commanded us to preach, to be godly and to seek spiritual gifts.

But God's sovereignty is surely an encouragement. We are told - "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him" (Matt 7v11), and "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." (1 Cor 12v7).

Here again is gracious encouragement. He commands - so we obey, but He also promises. He will give gifts! It is part of His sovereign plan. So let us actively seek Him for them.

He is the great Healer (Exodus 15v26). It is part of His sovereign purposes to heal - not everyone, but many. So why not pray in faith? And we will have the joy of seeing God answer in power and we will give Him the glory for His mighty work.

And if it is not His will to heal in that particular instance or at that particular time, we have lost nothing. We have shared precious fellowship in caring for His people in prayer, and we know that He works all things together for good to those who love Him. And we know that we find Him in the valley.

May God's sovereignty fuel our faith and our praying. And may we see a mighty outpouring of healing power.

A preacher’s dream

2007-05-05T18:40:00.000Z

My holiday reading on the Puritans made mention of Laurence Chaderton of Cambridge. Here is one report about a memorable Sunday message:

“On one occasion Chaderton broke off after two hours in the pulpit, declaring that he proposed to trespass no longer on his hearers’ patience. At that, his biographer narrated, ‘the auditory cried out, [wonder not if hungry people craved more meat] “For God’s sake, Sir, Go on! Go on!”’”

I wonder if, in this age of the soundbite, such behaviour is regarded as strange. It may only seem like a quaint story from the past, but is the fact that it is so far from much of our present experience of church a reflection of the condition of our hearts?

Even in our recent history, Dr Lloyd-Jones encouraged churches to give their preachers time. Do we? Should we? Can we become too concerned with modern views which say that people can only concentrate for a certain number of minutes? Can we become too concerned with the slick powerpoint presentation?

Of course there is bad preaching around, but bad preaching shouldn't mean no preaching, or dumbed-down preaching. One of the judgements that God said would come to His people was a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord (Amos 8v11).

May that not happen! I am challenged by this Chaderton, not to preach longer, but to pray for more unction, and for more unction upon the hearts of the hearers that they become hungry - even desperate - for the Word. When ministry colleagues of mine have travelled to Eastern Europe and China they report that people will happily sit for two hours or more and listen to the Word preached. When I visit my brothers and sisters in the Afro-Caribbean churches, they will regularly and hungrily sit for well over an hour under the preaching of God's Word.

Is there something wrong with us? God's Word is powerful and effective (Heb 4v12), it is to build us up (Acts 20v32)! We need to have a solid foundation of doctrine and powerful application so that we stand firm and complete (2 Tim 3v16-17).

God, renew our desire after Your Word (Psalm 119v127)!

Thy throne shall never pass away

2007-05-02T20:51:00.000Z

One of the thrills of being in a church that is both charismatic and reformed, is the older members who have such a rich heritage of hymns. Again and again, these hymns are a reminder that the glorious expectation of Christ's kingdom increasing was a hope that was carried with faith by our spiritual forefathers - which we need to carry today!

Last night in the prayer meeting, my fellow leader, a retired pastor, closed with the hymn The Day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended.

I had sung it before, years and years ago and it had disappeared into the realms of those hymns which had passed into disuse. But last night it came with fresh fire, the last verse bursting out with faith:

So be it, Lord! Thy throne shall never,

Like earth's proud empires, pass away;

Thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever,

Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

Thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever! That's the promise of His Word - "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9v7). Glorious!

Sanctified suffering

2007-04-30T18:05:00.000Z

During our recent holiday, I found a book on the shelf entitled Puritans – Religion and Politics in Seventeenth Century England and America by John Adair. I have never heard of the author, and am not sure if he is a believer, historian (or both). However, it has been an interesting read.

The book contained a number of biographical references to real lay people. A striking theme throughout the book has been one of suffering- and the way in which the ordinary person graciously accepted the suffering as from the Lord’s hand, but also was enabled to endure it because of their theology. Here is an example for two families, the Johnsons and the Otwells (who were related by marriage):

“Waves of pestilence rather than war brought death into the circle of the Johnson family and friends. They longed for a remission of these scourges. ‘I pray God send quietness,’ wrote Sir Anthony Cave to John in November 1544, ‘for we have deaths pests and wars to know God.’ But worse befell them. A year later Otwell concluded a letter to John with the sad words ‘it has pleased God this day to take Henry Johnson, my boy, from me by death.’ His son had died in his arms. But faith rose to the challenge, and the bereaved father added: ‘Our Lord have his soul and all Christian souls, and keep you in health.’ To escape infection Otwell moved to his brother-in-law’s house, only to report a few days later: ‘God Almighty has still his scourge for me in his hands, for on Wednesday last he stuck William, my brother Gery’s lad, with the plague as we suppose, for he complains much under his arm and is become very sick.’ William died within a day or two.

“The face of death ever before their eyes certainly deepened the faith of these early English Protestants. It cast them on their knees in humble supplication and loving trust. ‘Let God do his pleasure with me,’ wrote Otwell. God alone knew the time of a person’s death which happened ‘at the Lord’s pleasure, who be our guide thereunto.’ There is no hint of theological controversy in the Johnson letters, for the laity in those days as now left all that largely to the clergy. What they desperately needed was a faith strong enough to hold a dead son in its arms. That is what the Reformation gave them.”

These amazing statements – “It has pleased God… to take…” There is no outrage, but submission. There is a turning to God for comfort in the sufferings of life. There is no questioning of God’s right to act in ways that were painful to them.

They were kept by their appreciation of eternity, “Our Lord have his soul.” They were kept by an appreciation of God’s comfort. And they were kept by the truth – “What they desperately needed was a faith strong enough to hold a dead son in its arms. That is what the Reformation gave them.”

Of course, we believe that God is able to deliver and heal, and we must pray for healing. But we also see in Scripture that there are seasons where the Lord permits us to go through trials - even when we have prayed with faith!

We should take care about rebelling against God’s providence in our lives. We have become so sophisticated at thinking we are better at knowing what He should and shouldn’t do with our lives.

This is not meant to condemn those who have been wrestling with painful things that have happened to us or our loved ones. But, we spare ourselves anguish by resting in God’s providential care. When we question Him, deep down we are questioning His goodness and His love for us; that in turn is undermining our trust in Him, when actually in the valley of suffering we need Him. We need to have that walk of trust that turns the valley of weeping into a place of springs (Psalm 84v6).

We could learn a lot from resting in God’s sovereign care, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5v7).

The harmless church?

2007-04-29T19:34:00.000Z

In his book The Tide is Turning, Terry Virgo quotes a newspaper’s modern appraisal of the modern church minister: “He is a general dogsbody looking after a group of well-meaning, but generally harmless people.”

That is a very serious statement and a tragic reflection of the state of the UK church. Praise God that the tide is turning. However, I find this whole issue to be a personal challenge to myself and my church. Am I harmless? Should I be harmless? Should I be regarded in a somewhat derogatory way as “well-meaning” (but presumably wrong)?

This does not fit with the position of scripture.

The church is not well meaning, but possesses the truth

The church is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3v15). “Your word is truth” (John 17v17) and we have His Word. We possess the truth. The truth is:

A double-edged sword (Heb 4v12).
It’s a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (Jer 23v29).
The entrance of His Word brings light (Ps 119v130). And men hate the light. The truth exposes the deeds of darkness.

Therefore, if our church is simply regarded as well-meaning, there is a problem. Of course we are not going out of our way to offend, but we should be known as people with something to say.

The church is not merely a group of people, but a people saturated with God

There is something lacking if the world simply regards us as a group of people, perhaps like any other group of people in the world. Some may go to the golf club, some to play bingo and some to church. Yet the Bible teaches quite clearly:

We are God’s Holy temple (1 Cor 3v16-17).
We are a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2v22).
We are a bride – beautiful for our Lord (Eph 5v25-27, Rev 19v7-8) – even those who are not being married on the day recognise the beauty of the bride. Psalm 45v12, speaking prophetically of the bride says, “And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favour.”
We are a spiritual house (1 Peter 2v5). Again, a place where God is present, as He is worshipped. He says that He is enthroned upon our praises (Psalm 22v3). We are a holy nation (1 Peter 2v9), distinct and separated. As clearly a nation as the English, French, Chinese, Nigerian, Brazilian. People should know who we are.
As a result of this, the presence of God is known – even by unbelievers (1 Cor 14v24-25). They might not like it, but they know it as a fact.

The result is a dangerous people

Acts 5v14-15 says “Yet one of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” Far from regarding the NT church as “generally harmless people”, those around were in awe and fear of them – and people were being saved in multitudes.

We are meant to be the head and not the tail. The tide is turning – and the scriptures give us a vision of what we should be seeing. To quote Ps 45v12 again: “The rich among the people will seek your favour.” Spurgeon comments on this verse:

“Not by pandering to their follies, but by testifying against their sins, shall the wealthy be won to the faith of Jesus. They shall come not to favour the church but to beg for her favour. She shall not be the hireling of the great, but as a queen shall she dispense her favours to the suppliant throng of the rich among the people. We go about to beg for Christ like beggars for alms, and many who should know better will make compromises and become reticent of unpopular truth to please the great ones of the earth; not so will the true bride of Christ degrade herself, when her sanctification is more deep and more visible; then will the hearts of men grow liberal, and offerings from afar, abundance and continual shall be presented at the throne of the Pacific Prince.”

There is a sense in which this is beginning to happen. The local district council in our part of London is saying to the churches “we need you to help us with the young people – here is some money.” But this should be the norm. Sitting in dilapidated buildings, getting smaller and smaller until we die is not the answer God has for His church.

May the complaint of our enemies be, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17v6). Turning the world upside down is the destiny of the church!

That He might be Lord

2007-04-27T17:47:00.000Z

There have been some important posts in recent days concerning the nature of the atonement. Adrian Warnock has reported the decision of Word Alive and Spring Harvest to separate over the issue of the atonement. NT Wright has also commented on the issue of the atonement, in particular commenting on Steve Chalke's position and also on the book Pierced for our Transgressions. Sam Storms has also written an excellent post on his blog.

It is sad when any matters divide the people of God and it is to be avoided if possible. It might be said that we should concentrate on matters such as revival rather than divisive issues. Yes, it is vital that we talk about revival and pray for it. However, if revival is to last then it must be build upon sound doctrine. Therefore we must understand and proclaim the truth. The truth is the foundation of the church, and the church itself is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim 3v15).

Staying focused

Yet such controversies must not distract us from the mission of the church to extend God's kingdom. I believe that the voices that have been raised in defence of the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement are right to be raised. But it is also important that those who are praying passionately for revival and seeking to restore the church continue to do so. Praise God for His apologists and for great theologians. But not everyone is called to be an apologist and/or theologian. There is a danger of getting on a bandwagon and blogging (or writing) on the latest controversy simply because everyone else is.

For example, the issue of the Da Vinci Code led to numerous books, videos, sermons and blogs. It is right to defend the truth, but it is not right that we all come to a stand-still in order to defend the truth. Let those who are so gifted and called do so, and let the rest of us be equipped through their preaching and writing, but not get distracted from the mission of building His kingdom.

I am grateful for all those who have written on the subject of the atonement (and indeed for the material on the Da Vinci Code - although we may be suffering from information overload on that one), but at the present time I don't see my role on this blog to write about either. In my original post I wrote:

"[The church]... has a great future. The Lord has promised that He will build His church and the very gates of hell will not prevail against it. Despite the pressure and the seasons of decline, Jesus Christ is returning for a radiant church without spot or blemish. The church will grow and the gospel will impact every nation, tribe, people and language in the world. Jesus Christ will win through His church.

This great victory is my vision and the vision behind this blog. I will be sharing this more in the days that lie ahead."

The risen Christ

In the light of this vision, the post which really caught my eye on Adrian Warnock's blog was one on the resurrection called "The Resurrection Empowered Life" (there is also an earlier post here). It is so exciting that, in the midst of all that is being said about the atonement of Christ, God's people are being stirred to look again at the resurrection (for another example, see my last post). This is so important. In looking at Revelation 1, Adrian says:

"We see here once again, as so frequently in the Scriptures, the death of Jesus linked with His resurrection. It struck me that “even those who pierced him” will see Jesus. Then it hit me — how will they see Jesus? How do we see Jesus now? If I say the name Jesus, what image fills my mind? If you are like me, it is probably an image of the cross. Now it is not wrong for us to gaze upon the cross in our mind's eye. But I would put it to you that it is not that image alone that will transform us. For we will not see Jesus again on a cross. Instead, we will see Him in all His glory.

I also turned this morning to the book of 2 Corinthians, which I am more and more convinced is critical for us to read and understand when considering these twin themes of the atonement and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. I cannot encourage you enough to read it through from beginning to end. Consider in particular these four verses carefully:

“We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

“. . . the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

“For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

“For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:11)

To me the conclusion of these verses is simple. We are supposed to gaze upon the glory of Jesus, the Risen Lord, and as we do so, we will be transformed into His image and live a resurrection empowered life."

Amen to that!

Jesus the Lord

Thinking on the resurrection led me to these verses:

"For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living." (Rom 14v8-9).

We see here, the glorious ultimate purpose of both the cross and the resurrection. That He might be Lord! That He might reign, all-glorious on the victor's throne. We belong to Him, and we will give and account to Him - that's a challenge. Yet we can also have great confidence - the Lamb is upon the throne. Victory is assured - both our personal welcome into glory and the ultimate victory of His church.

"For we see Jesus enthroned on high..."

The resurrection is central

2007-04-20T13:28:00.000Z

Over the Easter weekend I posted on Boasting in the Cross. Today I found a very helpful post on the resurrection - "Cross-Centred? or Resurrection Centred?" by Mark Lauterbach, a Sovereign Grace Ministries pastor from San Diego.

He says,

"What if we heard this as the Gospel?:

Jesus died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins. Jesus spirit went to heaven to be with God. Therefore we can rest assured that if we accept him, when we die, we too will go the heaven.

Would I think this was the Gospel? Is it OK not to have a bodily resurrection. I find I have no "gut rejection" of this. Yet that could not be less true of the Scriptures. Richard Gaffin says that the Christian life is a resurrection life. That the cross includes the resurrection.

I know one of the movements of our day is a call to be Gospel centered and cross-centered. I am part of that and agree with it! There is no doubt that the NT makes much of the fact that Jesus died on a cross and we are to preach Christ crucified. But as I read I remembered a conversation with a brother just a few days before, in which he asked me -- do we sometimes leave out the resurrection in our focus on the cross?"

And

"Here is what I see across the pages of the New Testament-- a very consistent emphasis on the exaltation of Jesus. Why is it that the most quoted text of the OT is Psalm 110 -- the ascension of the Messiah to the Right Hand of God? The NT writers stood on this side of the empty tomb and spoke of the cross. I must be careful not to go back to the other side of the empty tomb to look at the cross."

An important reflection.

Risen to reign

Now (and this me now!) reflecting on Psalm 110 as the most quoted OT text in the NT - it is clear that the resurrection is not an end in itself any more than the cross is! The resurrection has achieved so much - it shows us Christ's victory over death, it is the proof of who He is, it is the fulfillment of the OT promises concerning Messiah, it is the assurance of our own resurrection. But the resurrection itself does not stand alone. He rose in order to reign.

And He reigns until His enemies are made His footstool (Ps 110v1). The Father has installed His Redeemer - Resurrected, Ascended, Glorified, and Reigning - His King, upon His holy hill of Zion (Ps 2v6). And He says to Him "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession." (Ps 2v8)

In fact every part of the ministry of Christ is vital. The Incarnate One, the True Man who alone could stand in our place (and who is our example in life), became the Man upon the Cross - the Redeemer, who triumphed over sin, death, satan and hell and rose from the grave, to ascend (going before us to prepare a place for us, to intercede for us), to reign in glorious splendour, to pour out His Holy Spirit (His coronation anointing oil - Ps 45v7) upon His church, to govern the church as her exalted Head, and to return for a radiant church when His enemies are made His footstool.

Thank God for all this. What a glorious Saviour.

Sam Storms on tongues

2007-04-19T10:16:00.000Z

Sam Storms has recently updated his site and started blogging!! This will be a wonderful blessing to God's people, and an encouragement to all us Reformed Charismatics.

Sam's first post is an excellent piece on "The Bible and tongues" - a response to an article on the Baptist Press website by Jimmy Draper.

It is totally sound, balanced and respectful - an excellent defence of the present-day use of the gift of tongues. Do read and be equipped.

God's radiant church

2007-04-18T15:11:00.000Z

One of the privileges of being away is the opportunity to visit other churches and see what the Lord is doing elsewhere in the land. Last Sunday we went to Church of Christ the King (CCK) in Brighton.

Simply being with 1000+ worshippers was so inspiring. But there were three special things that spoke to me.

A vision for the next generation

CCK is blessed with outstanding musicians, including the worship leaders that are known through the Stoneleigh and Brighton CDs. There must surely be a temptation to use these musicians every single week, but they were all sitting in the congregation worshipping the Lord while some younger guys were leading.

So, the leadership there are determined to release the younger generation into ministry - so important. Also, they are free from being caught up with celebrity status. Some might say "people will come if we have these famous worship leaders playing each week." But CCK are saying - "God is here - so people will come and meet Him."

A vision for the community

Part of the service was set aside to explain their Urban Impact iniative for 2007. The initiative started around 4 years ago, through serving the community in practical ways. A full report of the 2006 in programme is here.

The Church is here to make a difference to the community. We are called to be salt and light. CCK is savouring the community through loving service. Doors are opening and people are being brought into contact with church who would never normally do so.

This is a stirring example - a challenge to every church - do we have a community vision?

A vision for God's people

The message last Sunday was a wonderful pastoral exposition of Romans 8v5-11 by John Hosier. The download is not available yet (although it may be soon!), but for the time being I will share how the Lord encouraged me.

The message was entitled "Life in the Spirit." John Hosier carefully contrasted life in the flesh with life in the Spirit. He brought such encouragement. Most believers at some time or other experience doubt and discouragement about ongoing sin. But here was the reminder, we may sin "But you are not in the flesh." We are therefore not condemned, we have not lost our salvation (in fact we cannot). Even though we may sin, we are still saved.

John Hosier gave a powerful contrast. There are those who can look very much like Christians but are not in the Spirit, just like an artificial flower may look very impressive but it is not real. A real flower can look very unimpressive and withered, but it is still a real flower. As believers, we can fall and become deeply discouraged - but we are still real believers. We need to go on being filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to be revived, but we are still believers.

A true believer will believe that Jesus is Lord. We may fall in all kinds of ways, but we still know Jesus is Lord. A true believer will pray - albeit weakly. A true believer will know that God's Word has the answers, even if he or she doesn't read as they should. We may fall short in all these areas, but if these things are there in our lives, then it is a sign that we are alive.

Our body is dead because of sin, but He will give life to our mortal bodies - new and glorious resurrection bodies. What a joy to look forward to!

So - we must not be discouraged, even if we feel incredibly withered. We need the Holy Spirit to fill us again, but the life is there.

I praise the Lord that He will never let us go. But I want more, more, more!

At the end there was a time of praying for those who knew they needed a fresh touch from the Lord. And the offer of prayer for healing to which a number responded. Newfrontiers is taking seriously the challenge of praying for the sick with faith (see Dan's post on the most recent Newfrontiers Magazine).

All round a wonderful time - this is a church on the move and it was a privilege to be there.

Why should we praise the Lord?

2007-04-16T20:52:00.000Z

I have just returned from a few days of blessed holiday with the family in the Sussex countryside. It was wonderful to read God's Word each day surrounded by bird song and peace. There were a few things that came out of my reading while away, but for tonight, a very short thought that challenged me deeply.

Psalm 146v2 says: “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to God while I have my being.”

That’s it - while I live I will praise. The only reason we need to worship is that we live. I believe it was the philosopher Descartes that said "I think, therefore I am." Surely the Bible's view is "I live, therefore I worship."

We don’t need any other reason to worship. We might feel more inclined to worship when things are good, but we owe Him worship simply because we breathe.

That means everyone should worship. That means as believers we should never stop worshipping – we have our being for all eternity in His presence.

Let us speak to our soul. The AV bible puts Psalm 146v1 as a command – “Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

Praise ye the Lord…

The tide is turning to recover all

2007-04-10T10:50:00.000Z

I am going away with the family for a few days, but I had one more post on my heart...

Easter in West Norwood, London, is an exciting time! We have had two precious services - Good Friday morning and Easter morning, and an outreach on Saturday morning. We had many visitors at both services and a number want to find out more about the Lord. We are starting an Alpha course in week's time to meet that need.

At the same time as this, our friends at the Worldwide Mission Fellowship have held their Easter Conference, which concluded last night.

The theme of their conference this year was "Recover All." This follows on from the message brought by Pastor Dennis Greenidge at the start of the year (see my report on that). The enemy is a thief and a liar and we do need to learn to take back all that has been stolen (God's promise to David was "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all" 1 Sam 30v8). But they are not seeing this simply as things, but in the wider context. For example Isaiah 61v4: "And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."

It was sitting in one of these meetings (on Saturday evening) that a number of prophetic words (some old and some new) are witnessing together that we are truly in amazing days. There are four which are particularly on my heart.

The tidal wave - and the turning tide

My good friend Dan. Back in November he had a powerful dream of a tidal wave hitting Brighton. I understand that he has shared this with Terry Virgo and that a number of others have had similar visions.

At the same time, Newfrontiers are speaking of the tide turning. Terry Virgo speaks of this in his book, The Tide is Turning. Let me quote from him:

"When recently gathered with some hundreds of pastors for days of prayer and fasting, it seemed that God impressed upon us that we have entered into a new era. It would not be like a new day, when familiar bird sounds and the light of the dawn prepare us for the predictable. It would not be like a new season with its recognisable transition from heat to cold or from buds to leaves. An era is less recognisable. One man discerns that steam lifts the lid of the kettle and begins to ponder the possibility of steam power. Within a few years steam power has changed the world. Sailing becomes only a sport or hobby. Steam ships encircle the globe and an industrial revolution has broken out. A new era has come.

"While it is possible to deplore the closing of many a church building, it is also possible to celebrate the opening of new churches on every side. Warehouses are being purchased, school halls are being hired, even redundant church buildings are being snapped up. The manager of a music shop in London told a friend of mine that he was selling most of his musical instruments to 'all those new churches that are starting up around here.'"

The tide is turning - and a mighty wave is coming!

Replevin

This was a word given to Dennis Greenidge a short while after he had the word for his church for 2007, "the year of payback". The term replevin is a legal term and means:

"A judgment in favour of a person giving them the right and authority to recover all goods and possessions which have been wrongfully taken. A decree by the judge giving a person the legal right to recover all."

This obviously inspired the theme of the Easter Conference, but I believe it has wider implications. The nations are the rightful inheritance of the Son, because the Father has given them to Him, but at present the world is "under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5v19). This should not be. The nations belong to Jesus as His right. As His chosen vessels we have the right to recover what has been stolen. That is the Church's mission - to the ends of the earth.

The people of the Word and the people of the Spirit

This is a word given by Smith Wigglesworth in 1947. Here it is in full:

“During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it, and will be characterised by the restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

"The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, ‘This is a great revival.’ But the Lord says, ‘No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it.’

"When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit.

"When the word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nations, and indeed, the world have ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and Welsh revivals of former years.

The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to mainland Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.”

We have seen each of the first two waves. With the exception of Newfrontiers, by and large, the restoration movement of the 1970s has declined from the heights of those Dales Bible Weeks. And yet something is stirring around the world. Not simply in the "new" churches, but in many churches - and people are coming together. I believe the prophecy given by Greg Haslam at the Brighton Leadership Conference in 2003 , is significant. The prophecy spoke of different metals - different streams - coming into a crucible. He told them “'Do not call unclean what I have called clean'. There will be such an openness and receptivity among us to something that God is gathering and heating under the power of His Holy Spirit."

The Lord is bringing people together - in order to bring revival!

The people of the anointing

Finally, this is a vision that Dr Ern Baxter had many years ago (in the 1960s). I first heard it about 7 years ago, but recently it has been quickened to me again.

Ern Baxter spoke of this vision at the Kansas City Shepherd's Conference in 1975. But the vision itself took place during a convention in Canada some 12 years previously. Ern said:

"One night as I waited there, I felt I should get on my knees and as I got on my knees I had a vision. In a vision, I saw the earth as the astronauts pictured it from the moon. It was an orb out in space, and all over that orb were Quonset huts. Now many of you are too young to know what they are, but after the last world war, the army sold those aluminum, warehouse-like structures called Quonset huts which had become army surplus. At any rate, I saw Quonset huts all the globe and they were all the same size.

"I said, "God - what's this?". He replied, "I am going to have in every place, a people that are known for the anointing". Now at that time I had a permanent pastoral charge, and I didn't know then that I would be involved in a travelling ministry; but He said, "And when you travel from place to place, you will not ask for My people by this name or that name, but you will say 'Where are the People of the Anointing'?".

It fits so clearly with the promise of the people of Word and Spirit coming together, and with Greg Haslam's prophecy. Not this church or that church - but the people of the anointing. All over the world.

There has been talk of convergence! Praise the Lord. We need to seek God for this. He has promised it and it is beginning, but we need to continue to seek Him. A tidal wave surely shall come. The church shall exercise the replevin that God has given her to bring the nations to worship: "All nations whom You have made shall come and owrship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name." (Psalm 86v9)

I believe that this is a significant year. Let us be deligent seekers after the Lord.

All-powerful on high,

Dazzling in splendour bright,

Enlarge our souls, our hearts inspire

With Pentecostal might-

We dare not let Thee go –

Thou art our one desire:

Oh, rend the heav’ns, in power come down!

Baptise us, Lord with fire.

(LFW Woodford)

Living the Dream (2) - Dave Smith

2007-04-10T06:25:00.000Z

Here is part 2 of Dave Smith's teaching on Living the Dream from the Life of Joseph, given at Life in the Spirit. Part 1 is here.

Before I start, I just want to highlight that fact that my former pastor, Peter Cockrell, under whom I trained at Lansdowne has now started a new blog - Already not yet.

Anyway - here is the message.

Acts 7v9-10.

In the previous session we saw how Joseph passed the faithfulness test. Today, we will be looking at the test of promotion.

We can sometimes be more comfortable with adversity than with blessing. We get used to the failure mentality of being always in the dungeon. Yet the Lord wants to take us and exalt us to a place of influence. The decline is beginning to bottom out; the real trend for the church is up because the true church is growing - out from obscurity to a place of prominence.

We see the amazing exaltation in Joseph from dungeon to throne. This is also a picture of Christ – and of us Eph 2v6 – seated with Christ. He says if we humble ourselves, he will exalt us.

So the principle is humbling today, exalting tomorrow. While the place of His pleasure is to be holy and happy, regardless of circumstances – we are not to be under a cloud all the time. His anger is for a moment, weeping endures for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. There is a time when God says “it’s enough.” And that time came for Joseph. And it will come for us. Not necessarily open exaltation, but encouragement relief, being set free. All of us want that.

I) Acts 7v9 – But God was with Him

Enjoy God’s presence. This is the theme of the whole conference. Ps 37v4 whatever the season of your life put Him and His presence first. Determine that we will trust and delight in Him whatever. When we stop and come to the end of ourselves, the presence of God comes. It’s about allowing Him to do it His way, laying down our agenda and ideas – for Him to come through. Paul and Silas in the dungeon. – at the midnight hour, did not despair but turned to God.

II) Acts 7v10 - Expect God’s deliverance

“…and rescued him from all his troubles.” There are incredible promises for those who wait on Him. We can feel like we are in a long tunnel – but the light is somewhere.

We must wait for His timing but not be passive in waiting. Not impatience, but actively exercise faith, with tenacity, “I’m not going to let go.” Through faith and patience we inherit the promise. Joseph must have kept an eye on the dream, otherwise how could he have kept sane? For we must pray like this – eg, for healing: “God has said. We believe we know God has said.” So like terrier dog, we do not let go. We are not rude but we come boldly.

Waiting is one of the hardest things, and Joseph had some waits! Gen 40 – cupbearer forgot. Gen 41 – full two years. Then, when the waiting was over, it suddenly came (Gen 41v14). When God wants to promote, it can be suddenly.

III) Exercise God’s gifts

God wants to something through us. God gave Joseph gifts and a man’s gift is going make a way for him (Acts 7v10). Not lifted up by doing nothing! As we exercise our gifts the blessing of God will come.

Realise that God hasn’t called you to be someone else, but He has called you to be you. When He made you he said, “I’m not going to do that again!” God is into originals not copies. We can learn from each other, but the way God will use you is unique. So use Your God-appointed gifts with boldness, faith and humility. He got out through the gift God had given him.

Wisdom. The wisdom was the interpretation of dreams. The first exercise of his gift didn’t bless him – it got him into trouble. The problem wasn’t the gift but his administration of it. But this lesson wasn’t lost. He is now a man of compassion – he sees their faces and asks, “Why are you so downcast?” He meets the needs of others when hurting the most.

Confidence. Gen 40v8 – Joseph had not lost faith. He acknowledges God as the source and faithfully uses the gift. In Gen 41v15-16 he shows both boldness and humility (“It is not in me, God will give Pharaoh an answer.”) He isn’t saying he is nobody, but that the power is not in me. We rightly run from soulish arrogance, but we should also run from self-degradation, which is an expression of unbelief. Peter and John said, “What I have I give unto you.” Recognise and know that you have different gifts, and when you use them the anointing will come; and know what you cannot do.

To church leaders – the way to break through is not to be holding on to everything in the church, otherwise you will burn out. At start you have to do things, but if you have someone else with you (they don’t have to be full time) then share the load. To build strong churches, we need all the gifts in operation. Churches will become fulfilled and unbelievers want to come.

God gave Joseph the gift of wisdom. Wisdom will promote you (Proverb 4v7-9). But He also gave gifts of organisation management and administration (which operated in Potiphar’s house and prison). God prepared him through these things.

We need all these gifts in the building of church (not just the 1 Cor 12 gifts). If each one is faithful to God there will be an elevation that comes to the body.

IV) Embrace God’s favour

Joseph was put in charge of Egypt (Gen 41v40-45). For us, this is not self-promotion but for church to be centre-stage in the land again. We need to be able to handle influence and affluence. Paul was content in need and in plenty.

Can God trust us? Not only financial prosperity, but a biblical balanced prosperity? Can we become distributors of God’s resources? We’ll always have more vision than provision. But if provision doesn’t catch up, we will never fulfil the vision.

Why do we need these? They are never an end in themselves, but God wants to change the nation and the nations and for us to become a light to them. God wanted to raise up Joseph because famine was on the way. “To save Egypt and Israel…” Not for us but for the lost.

We are to preach the gospel no matter what. There is a spiritual famine in the land. WE are Josephs, but we are not to stay in the dungeon forever. The Lord wants the church to open the storehouses and reach a starving nation. Not just to minister to the saints. True growth will lead to conversions. The true sign of a healthy church is where many are on the journey in.

Joseph opened the storehouse (Gen 41v56-57). And, by the end, Joseph knew that all had been God’s purpose in plan in order that he might save many (Gen 50v19-20).

Boasting in the cross

2007-04-07T17:55:00.000Z

At this time of year the focus of much of our worship, sermons and meditation is upon the cross of Christ. We have nothing without the cross, nothing at all. We would all be hell-bound if Jesus had not died in our place. So what should be our response?

The cross should stir great awe at God's amazing love and the Son's glorious work

The angels are truly amazed at what God has done through the sacrifice of His Son. Even angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1v12). The praise of heaven is "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain" (Rev 5v12). The living creatures and elders (angelic representations of the redeemed) cry, "You are worthy... for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood." (Rev 5v9)

The cross should be a cause of great love adoration and devotion to the Lord. Meditating upon the cross and the love of God for us should cause awe and wonder. The angels who long to look into these things and not even beneficiaries of the cross! We must worship!

Yet the worship of heaven does not focus on the cross as an end in itself, but what the cross has achieved. So we need to be in awe at the love of God ("Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us..." 1 John 3v1), amazed at what the cross has achieved and make sure we enter into it all fully - that we take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of us (Phil 3v12).

A few things to consider...

The cross has brought us into the new covenant

Jesus said, "this cup is the new covenant in My blood" (1 Cor 11v25). The new covenant: the law written upon our hearts. We shall know the Lord. Our sins and lawless acts the Lord shall remember no more! (Jer 31v31-34) That is glorious.

But are we living in the light of the new covenant? Are we revelling in the intimate knowledge of the Lord that is ours now because of the shed blood? Are we entering in boldly to the most Holy Place (Heb 10v19)? Are we growing in the knowledge of the Lord? Are we living as those who have the law on our hearts or do we live as if the commandments of the Lord are burdensome (1 Jn 5v3 - when they are not)?

The cross has killed us - and our relationship with the world

I have been crucified with Christ (Gal 2v20). In Gal 6v14 Paul's boast is because the world has been crucified to him and him to the world. Our old self and our sins (Col 2v14) are nailed to the cross.

So - are we living in freedom from guilt? We might sing "Jesus keep me near the cross" (which is interesting since Jesus is nowhere near the cross now - He is on the throne, highly exalted), but still live under a cloud of condemnation. This should not be. Let us (as Dr Lloyd-Jones encouraged) preach the gospel to ourselves. The price is paid.

But also - the power of sin. We have been crucified. We are dead (Col 3v3)! Therefore sin has lost its power. We are no longer slaves bound to irrestibly follow sin's call, but we are sons of the living God, completely free to say "no."

And also - we are no longer alive to this world! We have no longer got to be conformed to it (Rom 12v2). We are transformed and called to be transformers! This is the power of what the Lord has done for us.

The cross has crushed satan

The Lord Jesus has made a public spectacle of the powers of darkness (Col 2v15). The Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth and in that authority we are able to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28v18-20). Are we?

Do we realise He that is in us is greater than He that is in the world (1 John 4v4). The cross has proved His glorious victory. He came back from the grave triumphant. He took the keys of death and hades (Rev 1v18). He is seated upon the throne until all His enemies are made His footstool (Psalm 110v1).

The Holy Spirit has been outpoured

Ultimately the Lord Jesus purchased for us the promise of the Holy Spirit (Gal 3v14). And all of the above is applied to us by the Holy Spirit. The new covenant is all about the work of the Spirit. The law is written on our hearts (Jer 31v33). We have new hearts of flesh and no longer hearts of stone (Ezek 36v26). The Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh (Joel 2v28 -in contrast to simply kings, priests and prophets in the OT).

Phil 2v9 says "Therefore God has highly exalted Him." The exaltation was the result of the cross. The exaltation preceded the promise of the Holy Spirit "exalted to the Father He has poured out what you now see and hear." (Acts 2v33)

So we have the Holy Spirit by virtue of the cross. And it is the Holy Spirit that gives us new birth, it is the Holy Spirit that brings us the work of assurance, it is the Holy Spirit that grows fruit in our lives, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that we know when we draw near to God, it is in the Holy Spirit that Jesus baptises us, it is the Holy Spirit that gifts the church of Jesus Christ, it is the Holy Spirit that fills the church with the glory of God.

And He comes because of the finished work of Calvary.

Therefore let us not stay at the cross but enter in to all that the cross has purchased

The greatest response to this amazing sacrifice and everything that has been achieved, is to enter in. Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to stay gazing at the empty cross trying to stir up emotions in worship. Yes, the cross should break our hearts, and we should be filled with love and awe. However, we should not stay gazing. Rather we should enjoy all that He has done for us.

An illustration. If someone had bought us a huge house, with lots of rooms and gardens, would they be impressed if we simply stood and gazed in wonder at the great price that was paid for it but never went and lived in the house and enjoyed the gardens? I think not. Therefore, let us not only be in awe of the price that was paid. Rather, enjoy all that was purchased. And that brings great glory to Christ.

Ernbaxter.com!!!

2007-04-04T20:34:00.000Z

In early 2004 my best friend Dan and I were praying together. The aim of our time was simply to encourage each other in the Lord. We had been talking about the legacy that Dan had received in a large number of sermons tapes by Dr Ern Baxter but really had no idea what to do with them, other than to feed our own souls.

But in this prayer time, the Lord spoke to us. His word to us was "the call is to publish." To publish Ern Baxter's sermons. Dan has set about transcribing many messages and he has published them on his blog. He has also been converting the sermon tapes into MP3s.

And now, we have registered www.ernbaxter.com! There is just one page there at the moment, but we intend by mid-June to have MP3s there for live streaming. We will also be able to supply MP3s on CD for those who prefer their own hard copy. There will be transcripts and biographical material.

This is a major step forward - part of fulfilling God's commission to bring back into the light Ern Baxter's glorious teaching for a new generation.

If you want a taste of what will be on the site, Dan has transcribed lots already on his blog. The most recent two are on the Kadesh crisis and on the land. Awesome words.

In the next week or so there will be opportunity to leave your contact details on the site so that we can get in touch when it is up and running. We would value prayer that we get this site right and that all the glory will go to the Lord of glory!

Sam Storms on Acts 20 (part 2) - from Life in the Spirit

2007-04-01T21:26:00.000Z

Finally, here is the next post from the Life in the Spirit Conference. I apologise for the delay. The first part of Sam's message can be found here.

Introduction

In 2005 Piper addressed the PCA {I wasn’t able to take down this quote word for word and I can’t find it on the internet, although the CD of the message can be ordered from here}– “It is our desire that God would send a spiritual awakening, of Christ-exalting, gospel-centred truths… not truncated, partial truths. The Glory of God is seen when we see the full gospel. He is more glorified when we desire more and more of God through more and more of His truths. How can knowing more about God get in the way of loving God? More of the Word puts more kindling in place… But there are people who say we can marvel at the mountain by staying distant. No! It is the clarity of gospel truths that drives the awakening. [Those] who have treasured the fullness and clarity of gospel… so rekindling… spread around the world the highly combustible gospel doctrine.”

We need the Spirit of God to take these convictions and make them ours. Today it is not just the pursuit of understanding the text but kindling in the human heart.

I) The depth of your commitment to church must reflect depths to which God went to save it

Look to the cross to inspire your responsibility. “The church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20v28). It would be more accurate to translate this “with the blood of His own (Jesus).” “His own” is a term of endearment, showing– God’s affection, devotion and delight for His Son, which magnifies the extent of the sacrifice. So if you question your own sacrifice, consider the depths to which the Father went.

II) Behold the awesome overwhelming responsibility of those in leadership of the local church

Leaders are “undershepherds” under Him – we have a responsibility to shepherd. George Barna’s book Revolution {not in any way recommended by Sam; he reviews it at here and here} – diagnoses a revolutionary trend that many young people have concluded that they can follow Christ with no connection with local church. They do not have any notion of a covenantal bond, with leadership or teaching. But Barna supports this {and Sam Storms most definitely does not!}

But many have bad experience of abusive leadership. Heavy handed authoritarian, manipulative leadership must be banished and eliminated. If a leader cannot obey Heb 13v17 – to lead with joy – then he should resign. A leader needs to give care with understanding that they are sheep; if not then you have no business being in the ministry.

Paul realised that leadership meant time and pressure and disappointment and hurt. What sustained him or (better) who sustained Him? 2 Tim 1v12 - the person, who removed all sense of shame, removed any hint of shrinking back through fear of standing for the gospel. It doesn’t say “in whom I have believed” but “whom I have believe" relationship; let nothing come between you and Jesus. God has entrusted the gospel to you, God is able to guard what He has placed in our hands as stewards. 2 Tim 1v13 – don’t modify it. That is our responsibility.

III) Failure to consistently preach the whole counsel of God opens the door to false teaching

V30 – twisted things, even from among the elders! This turned out to be a true prophecy. See 1&2 Timothy.

IV) Never underestimate the power of God and His Word

V32 - God through the instrumentality of His word is able to build us up. God does not promise to build us up any other way than through the power and efficacy of His word. Many churches have abandoned the functional authority of the Word in their lives. The Word is not allowed to govern how the church thinks and thus the church has lost the sense of its power.

Col 2v2 - that is the goal. 1) The knowledge of the mystery of God. Now, there is a place for doubt, under the work of the Spirit; no doubt can lead to arrogance, doubt humbles us. But it can be crippling. So Paul wants to bring full assurance. Full assurance is a real possibility in this life, despite theological and personal struggles. Not saying this is infallible knowledge but can be sufficiently accurate to give us assurance. We are never fully free of doubt because of the work of satan. Yet we can still experience full assurance of understanding.

2) There are riches. Wealth, treasure, indescribable spiritual value in resting in God’s word.

3) Of understanding – assurance is a function of knowledge and depends on our depths of understanding of who He is. This is the primary way we overcome doubt. Knowledge is not an end in itself (it puffs up), yet knowledge of God is the soil in which the seeds of peace and love germinate. Ignorance sows seeds of heresy.

V) Now, returning to point 3 (Failure to consistently preach the whole counsel of God opens the door to false teaching)

We face an array of twisted things. These hinder growth and maturity.

1) 2 Tim 2v7. Illuminism. Many have abandoned expository teaching. It is a command, “consider what I say”, with a promise, “He will give understanding.” What he says is in 1 Tim 1v13 – sound words. Illuminism ignores the command and presumes about the promise. Thinking is hard work. It is easier to simply trust the promise. But it is a false presumption that God will fulfil the promise despite ignoring the command. Illuminism seems more spiritual, but actually true illumination is the fruit of investigation. Illumination does not replace meditation, it is the fruit of meditation. It is dangerous to expect it the other way round. It is a problem in the body of Christ; some close the scriptures for words of prophecy. There is an anti-intellectualism. Some are so terrified of being Pharisees that they turn off their minds. Of course dead orthodoxy is terrible, but knowledge is not the enemy, arrogance is. Truth enflames the heart. Flesh is the enemy. The mind is only the enemy when yielded to fleshly arrogance. The mind is to be renewed.

2) Sentimentalism- diminishing theology for good feelings, especially if the theology offends you. Paul’s experience: Acts 20v19, 23 – trials and imprisonment (so was he outside the will of God as some say we are if we suffer?); v20, 27 - teaching, exposition of the whole counsel of God (yet we can yield to laziness, lack of preparation, and the pressure of managing time); v21 – repentance (it means abandoning sin); v21 – faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not inclusivism (this is hard for many to swallow).

3) Atonement of Christ – v28 Shedding of blood was necessary. It was not cosmic child abuse. Such a comparison is grievous to the heart of God. The Father gives and the Son willingly offers up His life. It is not victimisation. The new view rejects divine wrath. But the absence of penal substitution means I have nothing to say to a lost and dying world. What can I tell them? What hope is there in dealing with guilt, and bringing deliverance from bondage and alienation from their Creator? But only Jesus suffered and died in our place. We are forgiven because He was forsaken. This is the only ground for our forgiveness. “I’m accepted because you were condemned.”

4) The only way of defining whether something is twisted is if there is a straight line to contrast it with. Paul believed in absolute truth. Today we are being told that if there is such a thing then we cannot know it. So heresy loses all sense of meaning.

Conclusion

How will you discharge your ministry? 2 Tim 4v1 – Paul was under the scrutiny of God, beneath His gaze. So Paul was not ashamed.

How aware are you as you stand before your flock? He is watching. The ears of heaven are attuned to everything you say. His eye is over every gesture, application, thought and attitude. The most important thing– am I pleasing to my Father? Preach the Word. Don’t shrink back from the whole counsel of God. May God enable us, by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus shall reign

2007-03-31T21:17:00.000Z

In a recent trip to the Evangelical Library in London, I looked at some of their large selection of hymn books. I found an old Isaac Watts hymnbook and turned to one of my favourite hymns, based upon Psalm 72, Jesus shall reign where'er the sun. This glorious hymn speaks with great faith, based upon this psalm, of the power of the Gospel, and the biblical promise of the ultimate triumph of Christ's Kingdom. Through the Gospel, the Lord's kingdom shall extend from shore to shore.

I was interested to find some extra verses in the hymnbook that we don't normally sing today. The hymn is shown below, with the extra verses in italics:

1. Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Doth his successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2. Behold the islands with their kings,

And Europe her best tribute brings;

From north to south the princes meet,

To pay their homage at His feet.

3. There Persia, glorious to behold,

There India shines in eastern gold;

And barb’rous nations at His word

Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.

4. For Him shall endless prayer be made,

And praises throng to crown His head;

His Name like sweet perfume shall rise

With every morning sacrifice.

5. People and realms of every tongue

Dwell on His love with sweetest song;

And infant voices shall proclaim

Their early blessings on His Name.

6. Blessings abound wherever He reigns;

The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;

The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blessed.

7. Where He displays His healing power,

Death and the curse are known no more:

In Him the tribes of Adam boast

More blessings than their father lost.

8. Let every creature rise and bring

Peculiar honours to our King;

Angels descend with songs again,

And earth repeat the loud amen!

I would imagine these verses have been dropped because they appear to speak of empire in a way that some might think reflects old British Empire (especially verse 3), and it is a little antiquated to speak of "barbarous" nations. But still the truth remains - Europe shall bring to Him their tribute. Persia (modern day Iran!) shall submit and bow, as will India, and the other nations. I am stirred by the faith of men like Isaac Watts who penned these words, and then by the missionaries who went out in full faith that the scripture behind these words would be fulfilled. Psalm 2v10-11 says "Now therefore, be wise, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." God's King has been installed and He shall reign!

The theme of this great hymn is given a modern flavour by Lex Loizides:

Be still and know that I am God;

My Son has asked Me for the nations of the world.

His sprinkled blood has made a way

For all the multitudes of India and Africa to come;

The Middle East will find its peace

Through Jesus Christ My Son.

From London down to Cape Town,

From L.A to Beijing,

My Son shall reign the undisputed King!

Amen! God stir our faith to believe this, to pray for it, to preach for it, to give for it.

And our great motivation is the great blessing we have in Him - "In Him the tribes of Adam boast, More blessings than their father lost."

Yet there is more. Cyberhymnal gives even more verses of Watts' hymn, and I will leave these to speak for themselves!

Great God, whose universal sway

The known and unknown worlds obey,

Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,

Extend His power, exalt His throne.

The scepter well becomes His hands;

All Heav’n submits to His commands;

His justice shall avenge the poor,

And pride and rage prevail no more.

With power He vindicates the just,

And treads th’oppressor in the dust:

His worship and His fear shall last

Till hours, and years, and time be past.

As rain on meadows newly mown,

So shall He send his influence down:

His grace on fainting souls distills,

Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills.

The heathen lands, that lie beneath

The shades of overspreading death,

Revive at His first dawning light;

And deserts blossom at the sight.

The saints shall flourish in His days,

Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;

Peace, like a river, from His throne

Shall flow to nations yet unknown.

Three Rs for the church

2007-03-30T18:14:00.000Z

For those of you who live on the British side of the Atlantic Ocean, you will be aware that there is an ongoing political debate about education in the UK and the need to teach the three Rs again to children. That is, reading, writing and (a)rithmetic. The fact that two of these words begin with a letter other than R is simply a part of British quirkiness (I write as a Brit), but the point is that many believe that children's education should be founded upon the basics.

Yesterday, during an extended time of seeking the Lord with my friend Dan, three different Rs were laid on my heart for the church - Reformation, Restoration and Renewal. I had this real sense that these three are God's desire for His church and are essential if we are to see the fulfillment of His awesome promises to gather His elect from every nation and for the knowledge of His glory to cover the earth.

I am not putting myself forward as a prophet to the wider church, but simply desire to share what I hope are some insights into what we need to see in our day if the church is to fulfil her glorious potential.

Reformation

The Reformation has fallen on hard times. There are those who would seek to undermine it and even say it should never have happened. Yet without the Reformation we would not have the gospel. It was the Reformers who brought into the light once again that "the just shall live by faith." We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The source of our doctrine and the command for our living is scripture alone. It is this word alone which is the difference between a gospel of works and the true gospel of God's grace. It is not grace plus our actions, faith plus works, Christ plus our obedience or scripture plus tradition or human reason. It is grace, faith, Christ and scripture alone.

Thank God for the Reformation. However, the Reformers themselves taught that the Reformation was not a single event. Rather the church should be continually reforming. She should continually be exposed to the light of scripture.

The Reformation has happened. Hallelujah! We are not labouring under a religious system that keeps us from Christ. But we still need to examine our doctrine and practice under the searchlight of the Word of God, and we need to stand firm on sound doctrine.

I am concerned that in the pressure on churches now for results and for services which entertain, and for preaching that meets felt needs, we can downplay sound, expository, doctrinal preaching. That is not to say that doctrine mustn't be applied, but application must flow out of truth.

We need expository preaching. While I wholeheartedly endorse the continuation of New Testament prophecy, we must remember that God speaks through the preaching of His infallible word. The puritans held this view in such esteem that preaching was regarded as the exercising of the gift of prophecy. I would agree in part, but prophecy does not only come through the preaching of the Word. We need both - but we need to see fire and truth in the preaching of God's Word, and the glorious liberating truths that transformed much of Europe as people realised the abundant mercy of God, the liberating truths taught by great men like Calvin, the puritans, Jonathan Edwards, CH Spurgeon and others.

I understand that one group of charismatic churches during the renewal in the mid-1990s decided to chose Geneva over Toronto. Why not both? Geneva and the fire of the Holy Spirit, are vital for healthy church life.

Restoration

I first came across this term when my old pastor began going to the Stoneleigh Bible Week (run until 2001 by Newfrontiers). I began to read Ephesians 4 in a new light. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were given by the ascended Christ until we reach unity of the faith (Eph 4v8-13). I don't need to rehearse the teaching on this matter, which has been given with great clarity elsewhere (see Terry Virgo's book A People Prepared).

In his message to the Preach the Word conference, Terry Virgo described apostles as those who laid foundations, planting churches: "His purpose was to extend the New Testament community - that miraculous new creation community. Yes the apostles laid the foundations of the universal church at the beginning, but the word goes on. The dynamic ongoing ministry of apostles is to lay foundations... The Church needs to rediscover this ministry. If we are concerned about world mission, we know that we have to set about planting churches all round the world. It is the role of apostles to lay foundations. For the sake of world mission it is vital that we must rediscover the biblical place of apostles."

Of course we need a restoration of all the gifts. We need to see prophets building up churches, evangelists preaching with power for people to be set free and then these living stones built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2v4) on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph 2v20) - all over the world. And the churches themselves must be healthy in doctrine, in love, in godly works and in power, desiring spiritual gifts "..that the church may receive edification" (1 Cor 14v4).

Revival

Right doctrine and divine church order are vital, but the temple without the presence of God is just a building, Elijah's sacrifice without the fire from heaven was simply a dead animal, Ezekiel's bones were dead (even with flesh on them) until the wind of the Spirit made them alive!

Thus the third R is "revival." We desperately need a visitation from on high. Psalm 84v6 "Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?"

God has done it before and He can do it again. The tide can be turned! "O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy." (Hab 3v2).

There must be a passionate seeking after God. "We dare not let Thee go – Thou art our one desire: Oh, rend the heav’ns, in power come down! Baptise us, Lord with fire."

"You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29v13).

All three

Many churches embrace one or even two of these three Rs. There are Reformed churches faithfully teaching the doctrines of grace and expounding the Scripture week by week. There are Restoration churches, faithfully committed to seeing a restored and vibrant church. There are many churches (including many Reformed and Restoration churches) who are seeking God for revival.

Yet I believe that the need of the hour is to see all three. The fuel of reformed doctrine (preached and experienced with passion), the liberating order of apostolic and prophetic churches, and the fire of revival. So may the day come when "we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph 4v13).

O Gladsome Day of Praise!

2007-03-28T16:23:00.000Z

I'm so sorry. I've been silent for three weeks now! I haven't forgotten the promise to produce notes of Life in the Spirit, but I've been ill and one of my kids has as well, which has kept spare time to a minimum. I'm still working on the notes from Life in the Spirit, but before I post some more of those, I just wanted to share this awesome hymn.

By way of background, my fellow leader, Ken Vincent (who is a retired pastor), preaches one Sunday morning each month. He is preaching an awesome series through Romans 12, and has now done a couple of sessions on the gift of prophecy. Ken is a lover of the old hymns and his favourite hymnbook is Redemption Hymnal - which is full of great Pentecostal hymns.

A couple of Sundays ago, we sang this wonderful hymn, which speaks of Christ's glorious ascension, but also His promise of the Holy Spirit and our pursuit of Him. It blessed me so much, I would like to share it (it goes to the tune of Crown Him with many crowns):

1. O gladsome day of praise
O day of joy divine
The Christ who died is ris’n again,
In glory now to shine.
He hath gone up on high,
Ten thousand hosts attend;
He takes the throne in majesty,
All pow’rs before Him bend.

2. The heavens resound with praise
Earth owns His regal state:
A glorious company of saints
His promised gift await.
For ere the Saviour went
In triumph through the cloud,
Said He, “The Holy Ghost shall come.”
Then at His feet they bowed.

3. In ecstasy and joy,
With songs of love and grace,
As one they tarry for their God,
As one they seek His face,
Nor can they be denied –
They ask in Jesus’ name;
Behold! He comes! The Spirit comes
In wind and fiery flame.

4. The old prophetic word
Becomes His Church’s dower:
“Upon all flesh” is now outpoured
This plenitude of power.
Who owns Him Christ the Lord
May all His fullness prove;
Yea, boldly now this gift we claim,
Through His redeeming love.

5. All-powerful on high,
Dazzling in splendour bright,
Enlarge our souls, our hearts inspire
With Pentecostal might-
We dare not let Thee go –
Thou art our one desire:
Oh, rend the heav’ns, in power come down!
Baptise us, Lord with fire.
(LFW Woodford)

That phrase in verse 4 "The old prophetic word, becomes His Church’s dower..." might seem a bit unusual! I looked up the word "dower" and it means this: "The part or interest of a deceased man's real estate allotted by law to his widow for her lifetime. Also called dowry." A "life-estate", a right allotted to us as His bride for all our time here before we see Him in the glory face to face! The blessed fulness of the Holy Spirit is the legal right of the church - we must not settle for anything else.

Thus the final verse says "We dare not let Thee go." We dare not! There is nothing else. We can build buildings, have conferences, write books, preach sermons, have evangelistic campaigns, and all of the 1001 activities the church engages in - but we need Him.

"Oh rend the heavens, in power come down! Baptise us, Lord with fire."

The Joy of the Lord in Missions - more from Life in the Spirit 2007

2007-03-09T16:41:00.000Z

I apologise once again for the slow production of notes from Life in the Spirit conference. At the conference there is plenty of spare time to sort out my notes, but back home, there is less time. At last, however, I have produced one more set of notes. This one is from the Tuesday evening.

Ben is a member of the Life in the Spirit team. Until the mid-1990s he served as a pastor in a church in Kent, in the South-East of the UK. Then, the Lord met with him in such power that the Lord turned his life around. He should have been thinking of retirement, but the Lord stirred him for a new mission - to bring the Word of God to other countries, by means of Bibles, literature and teaching leaders. I won't say more because I don't want to compromise this brother's ministry. He is a gentle man of God with a passion for His glory. Something of the Lord's heart came through the teaching.

Here goes:

Introduction

The theme of tonight’s message is the joy of the Lord in missions. The approach is from Christian hedonism, not a legalistic spirit. We must remember there is more yet to enjoy – so let us go for more. Our chief purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him. Pleasure is the measure of our treasure.

The need

The Great Commission tells us the great “alls”. Christ has all authority. We are to go to all nations and teach all He has commanded, and He is with us all the days, even to the end of the age.

Sadly the Great Commission is often referred to as the great omission. So few churches have a global concept in their mission statement. Jesus’ mission statement includes the world.

The motive

Quoting from Piper, Let the Nations be Glad: “Missions is not ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t... Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory… But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching…”

Joy is so key. Nehemiah 8v10 (NIV) – “Go and enjoy… Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Dual application:
1) My contemplation of God’s personal joy and delight in His people and His purposes envisions and stirs me.
2) My own joy in God mightily empowers me.

His joy

God is the living God. He is Almighty and there must be no flippancy in our speech concerning Him. Yet we can say that He is a happy God. We see His joy in creation (“He saw that it was good… He saw that it was very good.”). Job 38v7: “When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”

Therefore God made us to be happy. People’s lives are consumed in pursuit of happiness. Heb 11v25 “pleasures of sin.” Even the suicidal are seeking happiness by their actions. The pursuit and need of joy is a fundamental aspect of creation. In Christ we have the expulsive power of a new affection - set free by discovering joy!

Joy is ruined by sin. From Gen 3 onwards God is reclaiming us (and that true joy for us). God doesn’t give up on His joy though. Eg: Ezek 18v23 – “'Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his wicked ways and live?’” Multitudes of souls have no idea of their true purpose.

Is 53v10 – “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” He found pleasure because of love His for all the lost. Zeph 3v17 – He rejoices over you with singing; He takes great delight in you. Heb 12v2- for the joy set before Him. The joy of the Lord in bringing worship where satan reigns. Rev 5 tells us that one day worship will exist everywhere!

It is impossible for us to be too exuberant in worship. We need to be unembarrassed about letting go and worshipping God. It says that in heaven there is a party whenever someone comes to Christ. What an honour to be included in that party, and being used to bring in multitudes that will be around throne on that day. But not just in this country, from the nations. One-third of the population of world has still to hear of Jesus in a meaningful way.

Joy of God’s people

1) Joy of sacrifice. Whatever was to my profit, I consider loss, everything compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him. I count them rubbish that I may gain Christ, not having a righteousness of my own… To know Him the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings… I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me (Phil 3). What is your 'that'? Hudson Taylor said “I never made a sacrifice.” Elliot, “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot hold to gain what he cannot lose.” It is not a sacrifice because of the all consuming joy.

2) Joy of service. Seeing from God’s perspective, in Psalm 2, the Lord laughs and tells His Son “Ask of Me and I shall give the nations for your inheritance.” In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the 70, who returned with joy. Jesus tells them to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Jesus Himself rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.

3) Joy of suffering. Scriptures say they rejoiced. Blessed are you when men persecute you and revile you, that’s how they persecuted the prophets. We who are rich have a responsibility to share.

4) Joy of submission. “Not my will but Your will.” One example, from China, some believers raised funds to help pay for the release of some pastors from prison. When they arrived at the prison the pastors told them “God has put us here to share His love. Use the money to help our families.” The pastors gave up their freedom and the prison was transformed.

5) Joy of success. This needs to be handled carefully, because it is not about carnal success. But Matt 25v21 says, “Well done good and faithful servant.” What will Jesus say to you? We need to live life backwards – imagine yourself standing before the judgement seat of Christ. Luther said there are two days – to-day and that day. 1 Thess 2v20: “You are our glory and our crown.”

6) Joy of satisfaction. In Your presence is fullness of joy and at Your right-hand pleasures forever more. That pleasure is both future and now for us through the Holy Spirit, who is the downpayment until the redemption! Paul’s desire was to “finish my race with joy… to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20v24). The most precious diamonds come from the deepest and darkest of mines

Conclusion

Another quote! “Therefore the church is bound to engage with the Lord of glory in His cause. It is our unspeakable privilege to be caught up with Him in the greatest cause of history… The gathering of the elect, and all Israel will be saved, and the earth is full of the knowledge of His glory. Then the supremacy of Christ shall be manifest to all. And He will deliver the kingdom to His Father and God will be all in all.”

Missions cause Him joy – joy in heaven; it pleases our Lord Jesus. There is joy on earth as light comes and forgiveness flows, and new life fills hearts. It gives us joy and anticipation of our great reward.

Therefore get your focus back. This is work but not toil. Rededicate yourself to the work. Nothing is more satisfying than serving Jesus.

The Beacon Church

2007-03-05T21:31:00.000Z

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates from the Life in the Spirit Conference. Returning to pastoring after 4 days away left me with lots to do over the weekend. But I am still working on my notes and will post again shortly.

Just to say, if you do want CDs of the sessions, please e-mail me via my profile page and I will pass you on details of the company who did the recordings.

A new Church

Before I continue reports from the Life in the Spirit I need to share the exciting news of a new church-plant in my area. Last night I went to the launch of the Beacon Church, in the neighbouring south London district of Dulwich. It was wonderful to see the school hall where they meet absolutely packed out with friends and supporters and I pray with new people from the area that they are seeking to reach.

A great mission

The church has a vision to reach the needy people right across the area they have called “south-Central London”. It includes areas such as Brixton, Streatham, Norwood, Dulwich and Peckham (across this area they have been three fatal shootings of teenagers in the last few weeks). There are some 300,000 people across this area, and they need Jesus.

Someone asked me yesterday, “Are there too many churches in the area?” I don’t believe so – there is such need. There almost can’t be too many churches – provided we are seeking together for the advance of the kingdom of God. Our calling is to advance the kingdom of God, not simply to build our own church. It is not about our own empire but the power and empire of Christ our Redeemer.

A great commission

During yesterday’s service there was a powerful word of prophecy about building the church on the name of the Lord. There is no point in building any other way. We can seek to build with human wisdom or in the ways that others have built in the past. But the Church has been commissioned to build on His name. The mighty name – the Lord our righteousness, the Lord our healing, the Lord is salvation.

A common vision

God has given this church a vision that is tied up with its name – to bring light to a dark world and be a light to welcome and draw people into the kingdom. There is an amazing similarity with a call that the Lord gave to Lansdowne many years ago – to be a lighthouse, warning people of the dangers of the rocks, but at the same time being a place of welcome into the harbour of security in Christ.

I thank God that He is starting something very special right on our doorstep in South London.

The Doctor for a new generation - Tony Sargent

2007-03-01T00:39:00.000Z

The Tuesday afternoon session from Life in the Spirit was an opportunity for Tony Sargent, principal of International Christian College, to share about a new book he has written of gems from Dr Lloyd-Jones.

I was introduced to the Doctor a couple of months after my conversion, by means of a taped message from 2 Cor 2v1-5 (Jesus Christ and Him crucified). I was hooked! So I was interested to hear what Tony had been up to. After an introduction sharing his vision for training at the ICC, he warned us of two danger for preachers:

1) Being toothless - having a message with no bite;
2) Being deaf and not hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

The Doctor was neither of these things! Here's what Tony had to tell us:

His first book

Tony Sargent’s first book was a study of Lloyd-Jones and the importance of the Holy Spirit in the act of preaching. It was called The Sacred Anointing [and is a very good book!]. The presence of the Spirit is the smile of God upon the preaching – to lack God’s smile is the worst thing a preacher can experience. It is said that Spurgeon repeated before he preached, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Lloyd-Jones is described as “logic on fire.”

A new book of quotes

Now Tony has completed a new book of quotes from the preaching of Lloyd-Jones which is indexed in 100 or so categories. It forms a compendium in theology and a summary of the Doctor’s position in many areas.

The Doctor quarried in areas where no-one else seemed to go, eg: the devil and demonism. He was one of the few prominent leaders in his time who actually taught on the existence of the devil (see his 20 or 30 addresses on the devil and his wiles in the Ephesians series). He covered demon possession in his lectures to the Christian Medical Fellowship. He shows how to cope with someone demon possessed and the importance of the blood of Christ in seeing people delivered.

Other areas covered in the new book:

Penal substitution. The Doctor shows clearly that this is the only way of salvation; divine love and divine wrath mingling. See his book The Cross.
On the reality of hell. He would not flinch from this - if salvation is eternal, so is damnation.
Preaching. He saw the preacher as having the greatest calling in the world to teach the unsearchable riches of Christ, bringing eternal truth to bear on the lives of the hearers. He saw himself as a physician of the soul. He said that counselling goes up when preaching goes down. He expected the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the preached word (so he wouldn’t have a radio broadcast from the Chapel because he wouldn't be restricting by their timing if the Holy Spirit came upon him during the preaching of the Word).
He believed that preaching is the word of God. The word of God to the hearers at that time. The preacher is a messenger who stood before them on God’s behalf.
On being ready for eternity. Does what you say and believe take you to the end? He warned preachers - never live for your preaching; you die a man. What will you do when you can preach no more? He himself was ready to go even when he could not speak at the end - when visited by a friend, he took his Bible in one hand and with the other pointed up. He believed that after death he would be taken into the conscious realisation of the presence of God and the glories of heaven. He was anticipating heaven not in terms of getting away from here – but for God Himself.

Conclusion

The preacher’s job is to bite with the non-negotiable truth, and to listen to God and declare what he hears.

{end of notes}

I'm looking forward to this book. Tony told us it has just gone to the publisher - so it should be with us sometime later this year!

Paul and the Church (part 1) - Sam Storms

2007-02-28T23:13:00.000Z

I have just got back from a truly awesome final evening session at Life in the Spirit. God has been moving in power, feeding through the word, restoring vision and filling with the Holy Spirit. A dear older brother shared tonight that he had been seeking the Lord for many years for the gift of tongues. Tonight, at aged 70, the Lord met with him and he spoke in tongues. Isn't God good!! Never give up on Him. He desires to give good gifts to those who ask Him.

In terms of the teaching - it continues to be excellent. In order to make sense, I need to keep my reports in some kind of order. So, I am looking back now to the second session yesterday (27 Feb) morning, when Sam Storms taught. This really was a key message - renewing mind and setting fire to the heart. It was also deeply challenging concerning our commitment to our Saviour and His glorious cause.

So here it is (it will benefit more to follow in your Bible!):

Acts 20v17-38

Introduction

Key verse: v24. We are so devoid of this attitude.

The conference theme is maturing the church. The church will grow into maturity, if we take heed to the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. The life and vision that captivated his heart and conduct here in Ephesus is a pattern for leaders to follow. Church will never attain maturity until leaders embrace the values here.

There is so much advice and so many books on the church as different people have sought to diagnose what ails us and prescribe the answers. All share a common theme, a “re-ing” of church: re-imagining, re-envisioning, re-structuring etc. But we should not be interested unless the “re-ing” takes heed of NT patterns, and grounds itself in them. God is not interested in any ideas that do not gather His people into local assembly according to the patterns in His word.

The church is in a dire state. But God loves and is committed to the local church. He gave His Son to die for her; He cares for her. And He has given us His word and spoken clearly to us our about our responsibility as His body and to us as leaders. These things are to be reproduced in our day so we can turn world upside down.

Some people say that the cause of our problems is doing church according to the New Testament. It is said “Times have changed and culture has changed and church must change to embrace culture; church should not offend sensibilities.” Of course we do need to be aware of our culture, but the only answer is for them to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. That is seen in the people of God gathered in covenantal relationship, with God in their midst. It is not for us to follow the culture of NT, rather to bring to bear on our culture the principles that governed the early church and Paul and the other apostles.

So this message will examine Paul’s conduct and theology. 6 observations.

1) Paul refused to exploit his authority and gifting for monetary gain

See v18, 22-23, 33. He coveted nothing. He had every right to be supported. But Paul chose to suspend that privilege. He didn’t want any chance of an accusation of being in ministry for the money. Next to sexual infidelity, a mercenary spirit will destroy credibility of church and ministry and is a reproach to the name of Christ and hinders the church’s maturity. Poverty is not a gift of God, but illicit gain obtained by means of the gospel is a tremendous sin. Paul was never tempted to hold back because he didn’t want to offend the givers.

2) He willingly sacrificed his own personal comfort for the spiritual welfare of the church

See v19, 22-23, 31. Why does he mention tears and trials? Tears from the pain of rejection, and offences, over ingratitude, sin and idolatry, compassion (v31), people’s lack of commitment to the body. Compare 2 Cor 11. Yet Paul never gave a second thought to it so that he could glorify Christ. Paul mentions these things because it is normal Christian living. If haven’t experienced tears and trials then you have not really got your hands dirty in the ministry.

The problem today is that the church believes it exists for its own comfort, to avoid suffering and minimise inconvenience. Then it constructs theology justify this.

Suffering by itself is not a virtue, but: Col 1v24 “for your sake”, Matt 5v10-12 “for righteousness’ sake”, Acts 5v41 “for His name”, Rom 5v3 “produces perseverance… character.” These are things morally superior that can only be attained through the battles of suffering. If you don’t cherish something more than ease, and treasure more than comforts or conveniences of society then this passage seems nonsense. If you don’t see something so precious in itself that it transcends suffering, you will not endure. You will be bitter and resentful. We need to take the long view. If your church saw that in its leaders we will see energy and zeal in them.

3) He refused to let anything get in way of his involvement with people

See v19-20 – ministering to the people. He taught, preached, counselled and lived among them. See 1 Thess 2v19 – “you are our glory and joy.” Heb 6v10 – serving the saints is how we honour the name of the Lord.

4) Faithfulness and perseverance in bearing witness to the gospel of grace was more important to Paul than staying alive

See v24. He said “I die daily” (1 Cor 15v31). We cherish our lives, jobs, money, status more. We say we would die for Him because we never have to; we won’t even go across the street to share the gospel with our neighbour. “It is a shameful thing to be so gripped by living, that we lose the reason for living.” The only reason to live is to fulfil the call of God.

We get to this place by understanding what the gospel of the grace of God is. We have lost it today. 2 Cor 4v3-6 says the gospel is the knowledge of the glory of God in face of Jesus Christ. We see the glory through hearing and reading. So Act 20v24 – Paul testifies to the glory of God in the gospel. The majesty and blinding beauty of God is bound up in preaching the gospel. We are not to peddle like a salesman and bargain (adulterate). It is not mere words, but the glory of God – no matter how inarticulate we are. Nothing is more important!

5) Faithfully proclaiming the whole counsel of God to declare the gospel of grace

Shrinking back from the whole counsel of God has eternal consequences – v20,27. There may be distasteful subjects to you or your hearers which expose sin, expose traditions, threaten your status within the community, but Paul was not going to hold back. The question is whether the teaching is profitable, not whether it is popular. We must never allow culture or comfort to dictate the terms of what we teach. If society sets the agenda then we will be indistinguishable from it. We are not to be isolated, we are called into the world, but don’t let society tell you what you can tell it. The only thing that will ultimately penetrate hearts is the revelation of the beauty of God in the face of Christ. Make sure there is a message no matter how it is presented.

What does “whole counsel of God” mean? See Rom 6v17 – standard of teaching, a body of teaching that all Christians embrace. 2 Tim 1v13-14 – a pattern of sound words, a body of truth, theological realities apart from which we cannot live as the church. We must never downplay doctrine. Of course we don’t go out of our way to be offensive – the gospel is offensive all by itself!

We are told not to pursue knowledge about God! But my satisfaction in God is in direct proportion to my knowledge of Him. I cannot delight in that of which I am ignorant. People say “I don’t want the truth of Jesus, I just want Jesus.” But you can’t love Jesus without propositional truth about Him. What Christ do you believe in?

The consequences of not declaring the whole counsel is that we would be guilty of the blood of the people (v26-27); Paul was not guilty of that. I don’t want to stand before the judgment seat of Christ having left those to stumble. V28-30: failure opens the door to theological wolves.

6) The whole counsel of God alone has the power to build up and sustain the people of God

See v32. The power of the word. It’s what God uses to impart your full inheritance in Christ. We are suffering a loss of confidence in the Word of God; a lack of faith that God can do great things in our lives through His word. But look what the Word is and does:
1 Peter 1 v23-25: imperishable;
Rom 10v17: the word gives more faith;
Rom 15v4: endurance of scriptures;
Rom 15v13: joy and peace in believing (revelation of God in scriptures).

The Spirit restricts His faith giving ministry, peace producing, joy-evoking work to the Christ-exalting Word. We need to lay ourselves in way of His allurement, where He can captivate us. There are other ways (prayer, worship etc) but the primary way is through the Scripture. Look, read, and see -
1 Thess 2v13
1 Tim 4v6
1 Pet 2v2
Ps 19v10-11, sweeter than honey.
Ps 119v14, 16, 20, 24, 40, 47, 72, 97, 103, 111, 127, 162, 167.

Living the dream (part 1) - Dave Smith

2007-02-27T23:42:00.000Z

Here are my notes from session 1 of Tuesday at the Life in the Spirit conference.

Dave Smith's bio is here. He is pastor of Peterborough Community Church. They have an amazing story of how God has built them. Dave's preaching is very powerful indeed, and very practical.

Here is this morning's message:

Living the dream (from the life of Joseph). Part 1

This is not an exposition of Joseph’s whole life (this is available from the Peterborough Community Church website - you can find the messages by typing "dream" in the search box on this page). Rather in this and the next session, we will be allowing the Holy Spirit room to highlight the things particularly relevant to us.

Introduction

God took a young man at age 17 and gave him an incredible dream. He spent 13 years waiting while in preparation and then 80 years of leadership fulfilment. And he finished well.

These messages are to help us look at the kind of things we are doing to help people grow – to apply the Word to the mess of Monday - and also to show us the tests we need to pass as leaders. If we are not living dream ourselves, then we won’t progress.

The Power of a Dream

Where there is no vision the people perish (Prov 29v18). Where leaders have no vision, they perish. If we don’t live in the light of God’s dream for our lives we will get bogged down. Joseph had a dream and that kept him going for 13 years. And he didn’t just dream the dream, he lived the dream.

It is not too late for us to dream. Or to rekindle old dreams that lie dormant.

What a dream does for you – it gives you a goal, a destiny, a purpose and keeps you moving forward; you become more pregnant for the purpose of God. Are we still anticipating God’s purpose?

How do we get a dream? Our call comes from God. Joseph was Jacob’s 11th son and the result of his parents’ cry. Joseph was born by God’s ordinance. And us – God has chosen us to lead His people and chosen the church to do great things in the earth. As leaders, we need to help people realise God has called them for a purpose. And our people need to receive a dream.

How? Through the Word (reading), preaching, or a prophetic word. This is for every one of us. It is not self-promotion because there is a bigger dream than one’s own personal fulfilment – that is, God’s plan and purpose in the earth today. Joseph himself only had part of the dream - but he was part of bigger plan of God. Only at the end did he realise that the bigger picture was to save many lives. That is the bigger picture for us – to save many lives.

Gen 39: Years of preparation

Joseph had a pretty hard time. There was a long period between the vision conceived and the vision fulfilled (also Moses – 40 years). During the preparation season we can lose heart. Circumstances can rob us of hope. We need to learn how to undergo God’s preparation time.

Often at the beginning it seems that not a lot is happening. This is root work rather than fruit work. God is taking us deep into Him and the deeper the roots the bigger the tree. That was Dave Smith’s own testimony from a church of 9 to a new building with 5,000 people at its opening. At each step (and it was step by step), God didn’t let them go further than they were ready for.

At the beginning Joseph was not ready to influence a nation. For us – it is not how old we are but how ready. We need to be ready otherwise we can slow and hinder God’s purpose for us and impact the extent to which the dream fulfilled in our lives. We need to show people that God’s dream for them is bigger than the world’s dream.

[There was a time of prayer for those who had lost their dream. Very precious!]

There were three tests for Joseph:

1) The test of forgiveness and dealing with offence

Joseph had just cause to feel offended. But there is no indication that he carried the offence. Gen 39v2 says the Lord was with Joseph and prospered him; that could not be if Joseph was carrying the offence (see Heb 12v15). Offence can hinder God’s grace in our lives. As leaders we can’t stop offences but we can stop them getting inside us. Joseph kept his spirit clear. We need to quickly and unconditionally forgive. Joseph suffered repeated offence (cast into prison, forgotten). So do we and we must leave the past behind.

2) The test of fruitfulness in an unpromising situation

When did he live the dream? Not only before Pharaoh. He started in the house of Potiphar (39v2-5). For us and our people - not just Sunday, but Monday. Even if the boss is unkind we can witness there Monday-Friday. The blessing of God can happen in the here and now.

Also v21 – the Lord was with him – that’s the key. Whatever situation, he could prosper because the Lord was with him (v21-23). He didn’t wait for good circumstances. If we don’t prosper where we are, then we will never get to where we want to be. It is not just for us to arrive but step by step, glory to glory. Pass one test, then the Lord says ready for next.

We can feel like we are in the dungeon, but God’s power works in the dungeon. Look at China! The prosperity of gospel is dependent on God Himself, not the circumstances. Start prospering where you are. Meet the test of fruitfulness in the here and now.

3) The test of faithfulness in the area of morality

V6-12. It is estimated that 60% US pastors have a problem with internet pornography. We must pass this test – and we can be sure our people are struggling too. Joseph kept pure through his life. We must be alert, even as we get older, we must guard what we think. 8 principles:

a) Realise vulnerability. If you think you are standing firm be careful lest you fall. Be aware of what you are likely to be vulnerable to (eg: money, power, pride, sensual)? Ask when at most vulnerable? Can be when very weak – Joseph was a slave and far from family, no accountability. But he was also strong, in that Lord was with him. We can think ourselves invulnerable. Who? Is there a who in your life? Be alert to danger with certain people. How? Spoke day after day. Doesn’t just come once. Came with words – be careful of the words we speak and hear. Where? Don’t be in the wrong place. Use common sense.

b) Refuse to compromise. (v8, 10, 11). Don’t simply pray – run! Stay close what is right.

c) Recognise the sin. V9 – against God. He understood covenant man had with his wife. Kept not by fear of consequence but love for God.

d) Request God’s help. God is able to help you in temptation (1 Cor 10v13).

e) Refocus our attention on Christ (Heb 3v1, 2 Cor 10v5). Remember how Sam Storms described overcoming the song of the Sirens (in Pleasures Evermore). Not just no, no, no, but oh oh oh to Jesus. Personal intimacy with the Lord. Be made new. Live by the Spirit. Follow the law of love and you will not break the commandments. If you constantly think about the sin it becomes stronger. The way to be free – keep falling in love with Jesus.

f) Reveal struggle (Ecc 4v9-10, James 5v16). Don’t need to pass test alone. Wolves like to attack lone animals.

g) Resist the devil.

h) Receive your reward (James 1v12).

Conclusion

We all have these tests. We are all still in preparation. So we still have to go through these things so God can entrust us with more.

Jesus our model - Sam Storms

2007-02-27T17:15:00.000Z

When I said in my last post that I would be bringing reports from the conference, I had in mind to bring summaries of the key messages each day. However, I didn't bargain on the gloriously intense programme and also the extent of my notes - which are quite difficult to summarise, as I don't want to leave any riches out!

So I will commit myself to sharing one message each day while I am here and then next week posting summaries of the other messages. So please be patient!

Anyway, yesterday evening, we were thoroughly blessed through a glorious time of sung worship where we were caught up with the Lord, He spoke to us about drawing close to Him and then came time for God's Word. Sam Storms was the speaker.

I have done my best in note-taking. If anything seems odd don't blame Sam, blame me!! I will try and post details of how to get CDs of messages later.

Here goes:

Acts 10v34-38 (esp v38)

The WWJD phenomenon provoked important questions. Many asked the question – what would Jesus do about poverty, racial discrimination, social injustice etc. But one question is not really asked – what would Jesus do when confronted with the sick and demonised? We look to him for our strategies and models for everything else, but what about diseased bodies and oppressed souls?

Confronting poverty etc doesn’t require the presence of supernatural power (while these things are important, a person doesn’t have to be born-again to serve in these areas). But for the sick and demonised, mere human goodwill won’t do. Not more money, volunteers, or strategies. But Jesus should be our model!

Key point - The Identity of Jesus

“Of Nazareth”. A person who had a hometown. Shows his humanity – it is real humanity [there was an awesome prophecy about Christ the Man during the worship time at the conference, amazing given that only the conference leaders knew what Sam was going to speak on!].

Christ is God, but we mustn’t defend His deity by diminishing His humanity. According to Phil 2, He did not empty Himself by surrendering deity, but by taking to Himself humanity. He renounced the independent exercise of His divine power and prerogative. He didn’t pretend to be human. When we see Him doing superhuman things, our reaction is often “because He is God”. But He did these as a human in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

All these points are an exposition of Acts 10v38, although the first goes into a lot of depth to show the truth of the point from the gospel accounts.

1) His whole ministry was through the power of the Holy Spirit

If He did everything simply as God then His anointing was unnecessary. But John 3v34-35 tells us God the Father gives the Spirit to Him – without measure.

Luke 1v15 – if the herald is filled how much more One heralded? Luke 1v35 – bathed in the presence and power of Spirit. Luke 2v40 – being filled with wisdom (Is 11v2 fulfilled) – this text is a clear reference to the development of the Lord's humanity, being formed and shaped by Holy Spirit.

Luke 3 – baptism. The Spirit came like a dove, there was the audible voice of God. John says that the Spirit descended and remained, in contrast with all OT prophets that preceded Him whose anointing was temporary.

Luke 4v1 - led into the wilderness (Mark says thrust forth) by the Spirit. He resisted temptation as a man, relying on the Spirit. The Spirit brought to mind scripture.

Luke 4v14-15 – the power of His preaching ministry was in the power of the Spirit. Luke 4v16ff – His whole ministry.

Luke 5v17 – the power of the Lord was with Him to heal (power is always synonymous in Luke with the Holy Spirit). Luke 8v43-48 (esp v46) - power came out from Him – shows impartation. Matt 12v27-28 – explains source of His power – the Holy Spirit.

Heb 9v13-14 –how did He find strength to persevere? Through the eternal Spirit.

Acts 1v1-2 – teaching after resurrection. He only did things He saw His Father doing. He was given revelation by the Spirit.

Everything took place (according to Acts 10v38) because God was with Him. God gave Him the anointing.

2) It’s a good thing to heal and set free

But if it’s good thing, why doesn’t He do it more frequently? 6 responses:

a) Although we must be careful in giving more weight to faith than the NT, sometimes healing doesn’t take place due to lack of faith. Many times Jesus says “your faith has saved you.”
b) The presence of sin without repentance – James 5v14-16.
c) The person doesn’t want healing(John 5v6). In some situations a person’s identity is wrapped up in the affliction and so they don't really want to be free.
d) James 4v2 – people don’t ask. Do you pray for sustained seasons?
e) The demonic caused is not identified (Luke 13v16). Sickness can be demonic in origin (not always).
f) There are dimensions of spiritual growth and moral development that God desires more than physical health and in His wisdom can only be attained through what we learn in midst of and how we react to physical affliction – lessons of submission, humility and patience. God is at work (Rom 8v28).

3) How many?

“All.” Shows heart of God to set captives free.

4) Not merely the miraculous

It says “doing good and...”. Everything that Jesus did was in the power of the Spirit – preaching compassion, reaching to outcasts, forgiveness, teaching disciples, His acts of kindness.

They were not simple signs attesting to the presence of His kingdom, but are the essence of kingdom. Kingdom is more than these things, but not less than signs and wonders Jesus performed. “The kingdom of God has come upon you” – the Spirit is operating through Me, that shows presence of Kingdom.

Application

On the day of resurrection the disciples were hiding. In John 20v22 the first thing Jesus said, was, peace be to you. “As the Father sent Me I also send you.” I am sending you in the power of the same Spirit. His ministry did not terminate with His ascension, but is continuing. Luke 24v49, Acts 1v8. The same power that filled Him has filled and energised us.

Acts 1v8 – is not exclusively verbal testimony. Luke uses “power” (dunamis) 25 times in Luke-Acts, 10 of which relate to Jesus and 10 to us. Of the 10 that relate to Jesus, 8 refer to healing etc. Of the 10 that refer to us – 9 times refer to signs and wonders and the other is Acts 1v8!

So Acts 10v38 is a description of what should be true of us. Acts 6 tells us Stephen was “full of the Spirit”. Full as Jesus was full. That is so for us. How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

So:

1) Read the gospels with new eyes. He is our example. A man empowered by the Father.
2) Expand your expectations of what God can do in your ministry. Do not yield to the temptation to give up.
3) Don’t back down to any disease, oppression whatever – physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological. Do not back down from any opposition of enemy. Never use perceived failures or excesses as excuse for disobeying God’s Word.
4) May God empower your preaching, teaching, prayer life, whatever your ministry. May He equip, awaken, expand your vision of what He can do through you.

Enjoying God at Life in the Spirit

2007-02-26T23:43:00.000Z

I've been a bit slow with my review of website links, but a brief review of one particular site (and the Lord's servant who runs the site) is essential before I make any other posts this week!

I am currently at the Life in the Spirit conference! And Sam Storms is one of the key speakers.

Sam Storms is another of my spiritual heroes. He was first introduced to me as someone who brings the message on desiring God that John Piper taught, but presents it in a way that is clearer. Having read both authors and heard both speak, I don't want to make any comparison, but I know that when I read Pleasures Evermore, it impacted me again in a similar way to Desiring God. In particular, Sam Storms' illustration of superior pleasure using the example of from Greek mythology of more beautiful music to defeat the power of the song of the Sirens, really struck me. Such is the power of superior pleasure (read the book to find out more).

Tonight at the conference Sam Storms was described as one who brings logic on fire. He is a man of the Word and mightily Spirit-filled. Truly reformed and charismatic.

The website is amazing - there are articles on almost everything one could imagine. It is worth taking a day out of your schedule to peruse the site and read its contents.

I have just ordered a copy of Sam's latest book on the doctrine of election - Chosen for Life (online version available too). Such a vital doctrine that needs to be made accessible, understood, loved, and enjoyed - that amazing security and liberty of being a child of God, and the humble awe that arises in our hearts when we consider that God in His sovereign mercy chose me!

I hope to bring reports from the conference over the next few days. So watch this space!

Resolutions

2007-02-23T17:14:00.000Z

Continuing my review of the sites that I have linked to...

A few weeks ago, I posted on Prophetic Reformation, a wonderful site "dedicated to bringing mature Christian praxis to the prophetic arena, encouraging a greater understanding of the role of the prophetic in the church, and to also address issues that are a concern to pastors and church leaders concerning the use and abuse (including neglect) of the prophetic gifts and ministry that have taken place over previous years."

The site has recently been updated and is as good as ever. Even more excellent articles. There is also another site linked to it, with the glorious title "the days are coming"!

In a recent visit, one particular set of articles really caught my attention. They are entitled "Hidden Agenda?" Acknowledging that we are all prone to the suspicion of others as to our real motives, Jon says, "We each have a personal calling (as well as a corporate one) to live before God in integrity, uprightness and obedience to the leading of His Spirit."

He goes on to explain the role of truth in giving an anchor to our hearts: "What I am discovering, very slowly, is that in my giftedness that my self esteem needs can only ever be met by recognising the truth. That truth, that I need to visit regularly, is that I am in Christ, forgiven, accepted and loved. Nothing I do will make God ever love me more than He already does. Soberingly, nothing I ever do will make Him love me less either. What an amazing Lord!"

Jon has a challenging page where he describes his own "hidden agenda" and then he shares with us Jonathan Edwards' own resolutions, which speak very powerfully. It is impossible to say which are more important but let me share those which leapt out of the screen at me:

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

47. Resolved, to endeavor, to my utmost, to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented and easy, compassionate and generous, humble and meek, submissive and obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable and even, patient, moderate, forgiving and sincere temper; and to do at all times, what such a temper would lead me to; and to examine strictly, at the end of every week, whether I have done so.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age, say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what am I the better for them, and what I might have got by them.

Legalism or vision?

It might be argued - why have resolutions? If we are free in Christ, why impose upon oneself additional rules and regulations?

However, if we are devoted to the Lord then surely it must be our desire to please Him! Not with man-made rules, but with biblical goals for our lives. We should have a reason to live, and a way to live which is in line with God's word. We should "examine ourselves", and seek to be "transformed from glory to glory." If we can summarise scriptural commands by writing for ourselves "resolutions" then that is a good thing. It prevents drift. "Resolutions", surely, is simply another way of describing personal vision. It is saying "this is what I live for and this is what I intend to do with my life."

For me, I have a vision for my life and ministry, and that causes me to commit to certain things.

My vision

My vision is: "To see the glory of God in the transformation of the community in which I live, and the church [my local church and the wider body of Christ] fulfilling her calling to the nations."

My vision is also to have "a Christ-centred and worshipping church, where the people have a clear vision of God through His Word, experience and enjoy Him by the power of the Holy Spirit; a people who know who they are in Christ and are being conformed to His image; a people who are baptised in the Holy Spirit, being witnesses to Christ, and enjoying the full measure of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and a people with a clear vision of what church is, who are seeking the Lord and serving Him here and in the nations."

These things give me a reason to get up in the morning! God has given me a purpose on the earth. From this purpose, a lifestyle naturally flows (or should, by His grace - I'm not perfect by any means).

Complete devotion to the Lord. A lifestyle of worship and intimacy with Him. Seeking to live well-pleasing to Him. Seeking His presence at all times.
Redeeming the time - every moment to be used wisely for the glory of God.
Diligence in the study of the truth. My main book is God's word, but also to feed on the centuries of the wise study of men and women of God from past and present. To grow in understanding, application and enjoyment of the truth.
To be a man of prayer - following in the footsteps of my Master. To pray for the people, the community and for revival. To pray with people for them to enjoy their inheritance in the Holy Spirit.
To examine myself and allow Him to search me and know me. To be ruthless in rooting out sinful acts, thoughts and words.
To seek to grow up in Him, not to settle for staying in the same place, but daily maturing.
To be a diligent teacher of the truth of God's word. To be passionate for the growth of the whole body.
To live a life of love. Loving Him first, and my family, then the wider household of faith and the world that the Lord Jesus loves.

I don't live up to these things and I thank the Lord that with Him there is forgiveness. But it is helpful to consider my ways before Him, knowing why am I here and how must I live to please Him. I can then apply myself with all the strength He supplies.

The power and empire of Christ

2007-02-21T16:49:00.000Z

Last Monday, my wife and I took our daughter out for an early birthday present - a visit to the Tower of London. My daughter loves history and has wanted to see the Tower for a long time.

As well as having a very interesting history, the Tower is home to the Crown Jewels. As people queue up to see the jewels a video is running showing the last Coronation of the Queen. At one point she was handed an Orb (see the picture), and the Archbishop says these words:

"Receive this Orb set under the Cross and remember that the whole world is subject to the power and empire of Christ our Redeemer."

These are powerful words. Are they true? I believe so, and I believe that ultimately His empire will extend:

From pole to pole, that wars may cease,

And all be prayer and praise.

(From the hymn Crown Him with many crowns)

The scriptures tell us:

"Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession." (Psalm 2v8)

"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." (Psalm 72v8)

"The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool'" (Psalm 110v1)

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2v14)

I called this blog The Best is Yet to Come because I believe that, despite many tribulations, ultimately, "All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name." (Psalm 86v9)

In God's providence, my sight of the Orb coincided with three other things:

1) I have arrived in my Sunday evening expositions of Zechariah to the middle of Chapter 14. Next Sunday's message will cover - "And the Lord will be King over all the earth" (v9).

2) My good friend Dan has transcribed a teaching of Ern Baxter's entitled "What on earth is God saying about discipling the nations?" This is a must read - a totally awesome message.

3) I have just started reading properly (as opposed to skimming) the glorious book The Puritan Hope by Iain H Murray, which shares the biblical vision (through the teaching of the Puritans), of the glorious hope of the triumph of the gospel.

All three of these things are setting my heart on fire. What a glorious thing God has purposed for His church and for the earth!

I was thinking of filling this post with lots of quotes, but I would really encourage everyone - read for yourself and be stirred with the glorious vision of Dr Baxter and the Puritans! Very different people, but yet sharing the same Biblical vision.

But why is this so important? Because such an understanding of God's purposes stirs us to seek His face with true passion. I can't resisting closing with Murray quoting J H Thornwell:

"If the church could be aroused to a deeper sense of the glory that awaits her, she would enter with a warmer spirit into the struggles that are before her. Hope would inspire ardour. She would even now arise from the dust, and like the eagle, plume her pinions for loftier flights than she has yet taken. What she wants, and what every individual Christian wants, is faith - faith in her sublime vocation, in her Divine resources, in the presence and efficacy of the Spirit that dwells in her - faith in the truth, faith in Jesus, and faith in God. With such a faith there would be no need to speculate about the future. That would speedily reveal itself. It is our unfaithfulness, our negligence and unbelief, our low and carnal aims, that retard the chariot of the Redeemer. The Bridegroom cannot come until the Bride has made herself ready. Let the Church be in earnest after greater holiness in her own members, and in faith and love undertake the conquest of the world, and she will soon settle the question whether her resources are competent to change the face of the earth."

Desiring God

2007-02-10T19:57:00.000Z

This is the next site on my list of links.

Back in 1992, during a four month stay in Washington DC, I was handed a book by a dear older brother in the fellowship I was attending. It was called Desiring God. At that time I had never heard of John Piper, but this was one of those books that changed my life.

While I must admit I struggled with the term "Christian Hedonist" (and I still wonder if people are put off the from examining the truth of the doctrine, by the title given to it), I was immediately gripped by the "revision" of the Westminster Shorter Catechism - "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."

Yes, God is to feared, honoured, worshipped and obeyed, but He is to be enjoyed. The book did for me what it was meant to do - it radically increased my desire for God. It is right to enjoy God - to seek pleasure in Him. I thank God that, even though I still fall, I can say that the Lord is more satisfying than anything sin can offer; there is greater pleasure in Him than in all the passing pleasures of sin. One of my favourite quotes from Future Grace (which I read later) - "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" - is so true. "My soul finds rest in God alone" (Ps 62v1)!

I brought the book home with me and lent it to a couple of people - one was outraged by it and the other didn't read it! But after a few years John Piper's ministry became more widely known here in the UK and I found more books, and the hunger for God grew in me. So I am indebted to John Piper's ministry for drawing me to pursue God Himself in all His sufficiency. And also for encouraging me to explore Jonathan Edwards for myself.

There are many excellent articles, interviews and sermons on this website. They also now have a blog! There are some very good posts and links there, not least the links to all the audios for the recent pastor's conference! For free!!

RC Sproul

I was very excited to discover that RC Sproul gave three messages at the conference - the Holiness of God, the Holiness of Christ, and Holiness and Justice.

In my "biographical" post I mentioned my early introduction to reformed theology at Leeds Reformed Baptist Church, and the many books that I had been encouraged to read by the friend who led me to the Lord. One of those books was The Holiness of God by Sproul. This is another one of those life-changing books. It should be on the reading list of every believer. If you have led someone to the Lord, then they must read this book within the first few months of discipleship. As well as showing me just how awesome God is - how worthy of adoration, worship, awe and fear - it showed me a key thing that has helped form the rest of my theology.

He says at the end: "How can we love a holy God? The simplest answer I can give to this vital question is that we can't. Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power. The only kind of God we can love by our sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands. Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds his holy love into our hearts, unless He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him. He is the One who takes the initiative to restore our souls. Without Him we can do nothing of righteousness. Without Him we would be doomed to everlasting alienation from His holiness. We can only love Him because He first loved us. To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls."

Piper enabled me to see how totally glorious God is, the supreme goal of our pursuit, the ultimate source of delight for my soul. Sproul helped my to realise that before I could ever pursue God as He really is, I needed God to break in with irresistible grace to my soul. He breathed life into me who was dead, and with a new heart, I can indeed see God as He is and love Him. What amazing grace we have received that He has saved us, and drawn us to Himself! What an awesome privilege that He is our God!!

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness in all the earth, for in these I delight,' says the Lord." (Jer 9v23-24)

A word about website links (part 1)

2007-02-08T20:05:00.001Z

As promised, here are a few comments about some of the websites I have links to...

Worldwide Mission Fellowship

WWMF is the local Pentecostal church. The pastor, Dennis Greenidge is a great friend of mine and we are prayer partners. We share a desire to see our community won for Jesus Christ. There is some excellent material on their website, including video messages (Dennis preaches with real fire!) and some answers to difficult questions. The church holds an annual conference each year over the Easter weekend - it is well worth visiting if you are ever in South London.

Westminster Chapel

When Dr Kendall announced his retirement from the Chapel, a number of reformed commentators expressed the wish that the new minister would be a man that would bring the church back to a more "sound" position. Well, there is nothing unsound about Greg Haslam (there wasn't anything about Dr Kendall, either)! He is a truly man of Word and Spirit. God brought him to the Chapel and I believe the Lord is doing, and will continue to do, a great work in that place.

Greg Haslam is one of the best Bible teachers I know. I could listen to him for hours. He preached at my induction and I have had the opportunity to share fellowship with him occasionally. There is a link on the website to download some of Greg's sermons.

One of the highlights of 2003-2004 were monthly seminars at the Chapel called "Preach the Word" designed to equip pastors and preachers to meet the high challenge of preaching in today's world. All the talks were compiled into an excellent book, which is available from the bookroom.

George Kouri

Dan found George Kouri (or rather George Kouri's son found Dan!). Brother Kouri's biography is found here. He served with Ern Baxter for a number of years and has a powerful Kingdom vision that sets my feet dancing with joy (for example - his third point is the need to "return to the God sized purpose for the church. From only converts and congregations to Kingdom and countries." Wow!!!). I intend to followthis site and Brother Kouri's blog.

Also, Brother Kouri is Chancellor of an online bible college (http://www.atsvirtual.org/). It looks like there are some excellent courses there. Dan and I have been challenged to deepen our understanding of God's word through further study - possibly a masters and we have a real witness in our hearts that this is the place to study!

Newfrontiers

I discovered New Frontiers shortly before being baptised in the Holy Spirit. I went through a season between 1994 and 1996 moving from an "open but cautious" position (from my reformed foundations) to a more cessationist one, mainly because of the criticism levelled at the "Toronto blessing". My pastor then told me of this group of churches that was both charismatic and reformed. I admit to regarding such a combination as impossible.

I have since found that being charismatic and reformed is not only possible but biblical! I have never left the reformed foundations but in prayer and worship one morning, I found myself speaking in tongues. My joy in God grew and grew. Then in 1998 I went to the Life in the Spirit conference (where reformed theology meets charismatic experience) and found myself laid out on the conference room floor basking in the glory of God!!

I studied the scriptures and Jonathan Edwards "Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God" and realised that manifestations were not ultimate proof of whether something was a work of God or a work of the enemy. The test was the fruit - and I realised that I was meeting people who had been powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit and their lives were different! I had to repent of my attitude to the ministry of the Holy Spirit - and it became my heart's desire to be 100% charismatic and 100% reformed.

So I went to the Brighton 1998 Leaders' Conference. What glory! Drenched in the awesome presence of God. And from there I haven't really looked back. We went as a family to Stoneleigh in 1999 and again in 2000 (we missed 2001 because our son was born a few weeks before) and most of the Leaders' Conferences. Every conference has had a mighty impact upon my life.

Their vision is truly awesome. "Newfrontiers is a worldwide family of churches together on a mission, currently approaching 500 churches worldwide. With a passionate commitment to build the church according to New Testament principles, we believe that the most effective form of evangelism is worked out from strong local churches. Churches where each member participates, the gifts of the Spirit are outworked, where there is joy in caring one for the other, where there is a desire to make a difference in society and to reach those in need. We aim to achieve this by restoring the church, making disciples, training leaders, planting churches and reaching the nations." Amen!

This is God's vision for His church. I thank Him for Newfrontiers and look forward to Together on a Mission 2007.

More websites to follow soon...

I'm Your servant

2007-02-05T21:26:00.000Z

Apologies for the lack of posting over the last week - we have been decorating my son's bedroom. We've had some help from a good friend (my DIY skills are virtually zero). Its done now and it is excellent, but it has taken longer than we planned.

10 days or so ago I posted a brief description of the links to other blogs. I started today's post as a description of the website links, but - as the first link is about my own church - it has turned into something of a mini-biography! So I shall leave it at that for today! I hope it is interesting!

Lansdowne Evangelical Church

This is the church that I pastor - in a small corner of South London, UK! The current website is very out of date, but I am reliably informed we are going to have a new site soon (same address)!

I became pastor of Lansdowne four years ago after six years as assistant pastor (three of them "full-time" and three while I was working as an accountant). Apart from my time at university and a four-month stay in Washington DC, Lansdowne has been my home church. I first heard the gospel at university in Leeds, some 200 miles north of London, through the son of an elder of Lansdowne Church - yes the very church I am pastoring now! Prior to university I had lived a few minutes away by bus - but the sovereign Lord sent me to Leeds to hear the gospel and then brought me back home - to Lansdowne. After a couple of years I was baptised there, became a member there, and grew there, mainly under the excellent teaching ministry of Peter Cockrell.

Initially, I was half in London and half in Leeds. During my Leeds time I attended Leeds Reformed Baptist Church. Here I sat under the ministry of Peter Parkinson and Errol Hulse. I was taught reformed theology with fire! At the same time I was discipled by the dear brother who had led me to Christ. He insisted on me reading Christian books. The very night I was converted I was just so amazed that I read the first two gospels and a book about a soldier in the Soviet army called "Vanya". Then I read "God's Smuggler". Then he got me into theology and JI Packer and Dr Lloyd-Jones! And we did regular Bible study - including a verse by verse study of Ephesians. I have never forgotten these days - they laid a vital foundation for the rest of my Christian life.

During the early days at Lansdowne (before Peter Cockrell came) the church was at a low ebb. I was even encouraged to leave and find fellowship elsewhere (something of a lack of faith)! But the Lord convicted me so clearly to stay. So I did. And under Peter Cockrell the church began to grow and open up to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Many, including me, began to see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were for today, and began to find new joy in worship. I was challenged about being baptised in the Holy Spirit. A study of the scriptures showed me that I hadn't "got it all at conversion", but I needed to be "endued with power from on high!" I sought the Lord, actually for a long time, and then the glory of the Lord filled my soul!

Right at the beginning of my Christian life, I had a sense that I would preach. That just grew and grew. Another elder from the very early days at Lansdowne, Clive Anderson, took me with him to preach at various small churches and chapels in South London. They were precious days - and I thank God that I was given the opportunity to preach. It wasn't about fame - many of the congregations were less than 10 people - but it was about getting before the Lord and opening His Word, and learning how to share with the people and feed them.

After a number of years I had a sense of call specifically to Lansdowne. I had been nurtured by Peter Cockrell, initially with a view to moving elsewhere, but the Lord clearly led me to stay. And then after Peter moved on, the call came from the church to be their pastor.

It is an awesome privilege and a great responsibility, but God is so faithful to us. We are currently relatively small, and yet there has been a great heritage. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 1,000 people worshipping at Lansdowne. We are now less than 10% of that number, but the Lord has given us a promise: "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former... and in this place will I give peace" (Haggai 2v9).

We stand on this promise that the Lord will do great things for us, and for the community where He has placed us.

We are totally dependent on His grace. As pastor, I am just a man and I struggle like everyone else - but God is faithful. At my induction service in March 2003, this song was sung, which has spoken to me powerfully ever since I first heard it a few years before:

Now into Your presence Lord
I will boldy come
It’s only by Your grace O Lord
It’s nothing I have done
Grant me Your servant heart
That I might live like You
And as you set me apart
I will humbly share the love
I found in You.

I’m Your servant here I am
Bended knees and open hands
Lord I hear Your voice today
Lord I hear and I obey
When I’m weak will You be strong
When I’m lost will You lead me home
Though I struggle on the way
Would You use me anyway
Lord I give my life today.

© 1998 Parachute Music CCLI # 2396374
PO Box 108 223, Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand
Ph 64 9 366 1627 www.parachutemusic.com
email: worshipresources@parachutemusic.com

My prayer remains, whatever happens in the days that lie ahead, Lord "would You use me anyway."

The gift of old people to the church

2007-01-27T12:55:00.000Z

I was recently given a copy of the excellent new Africa Bible Commentary. It is a one-volume commentary written by African Bible scholars to assist pastors and teachers in Africa to teach God's word more effectively. It is an evangelical commentary that is written with the perspective of African culture. It is a valuable commentary for non-Africans, too, containing lots of practical insight and helpful articles on issues such as debt, democracy, HIV/AIDs, idolatry, poverty, rape, slavery, and widows and orphans that are not normally covered in a standard commentary.

The introduction explains its style and purpose: "The ABC is not a critical, academic, verse-by-verse commentary. Rather it contains section-by-section exegesis and explanation of the whole Bible as seen through the eyes of African scholars who respect the integrity of the text and use African proverbs, metaphors and stories to make it speak to African believers in the villages and cities across the entire continent. The application is both bold and faithful. Thus the ABC does not speak of a Black Jesus. To do so would be a travesty of the Bible story and cheap scholarship. Instead, the ABC is true to the text and honest to its context both in Bible days and in our day.

"The ABC is, in fact, a mini-library that equips pastors and teachers to teach the churches and encourage students and church members to study God's word for themselves."

One of our retired elders is using it as part of his daily time with the Lord - something I am about to follow. I shall report on how I get on!

However, the purpose of today's post, is to share something generated through my reading of the commentary's introduction to the Pentateuch. It points out the many references to passing on the knowledge of the Lord and what He has done from generation to generation. Then the writer says this:

"The death of an old person is like the death of a library."

That has left me very challenged - how do we treat the older believers in our churches? They may not be "the life and soul of the party"; they may be frail in body (and perhaps in mind); and they may not appreciate the modern way so many things are done in church today. But they are a library of rich volumes of experience with God. Many of them have a lifetime of reading His word, hearing His voice and seeking His face in prayer. They have a wealth of testimonies of how the Lord has guided, protected, provided, answered, comforted and encouraged.

Maybe we don't like to visit our local library because it is old and dusty. But if it closed, the books would be lost forever...

When the old people in our fellowship die, their 'books' are lost forever. We may prefer the company of friends our own age, but we are surely missing something if that is all we do. How about spending time with some older Christians - seasoned saints - and asking them, graciously, about their lives. Then their 'books' will not be lost but handed on - to you and me. And we will be far richer because of them!