I have been listening to some awesome teaching by Jimmy Evans recently and encountered an amazing sermon on God's love. Whilst many of us feel we understand that God's love is perfect, that is the agape love that God gives us never fails or disappoints, what we often forget is that whilst we are able to portray aspects of God's love in our lives, we however are not always perfect. We may at times therefore disappoint those we love and care for.
God's love is also permanent, meaning that He will never withdraw nor remove His love from us despite how we feel or even act towards Him. This is best seen in Romans 5:8, "Christ died for us whilst we were still sinners." We however are vulnerable and will often choose to love based on our circumstances and experience. This is often because of the way we have been treated and the hurts that we have experienced in our lives.
God's love is also powerful, meaning it is able to bring changes and effect us in a way that restores us to how God intended us to be. We on the other hand are never truly able to display this kind of love in our humanness. Often the type of love that the world displays today is destructive rather than wanting to build others up.
Whilst it is easy to admit we cannot display this kind of love all the time, what is harder is to remember those who we love and who affect our lives are also unable to display this love towards us all the time. This to me is a great relief as I realise that people can never truly fulfil my needs for love, that there is only one who can, that is Jesus!
Whilst I could stop hear and say that's all, we are doomed to failure as we will never be able to give love as God gives love there is in fact more to this message. Paul tells us in Philippian's to "work out your salvation". A scripture which I battled with for many years in my life. Mainly as I understood the work that Christ did on the cross for us was "completed" and also as I believed not in a works minded mentality that is that we should work for our salvation knowing that Christ did it all on the cross. This however is not what Paul is saying, in fact when we study the context of the scripture we find that Paul is explaining that we need to put to work in our lives the power that Christ wrought for salvation on the cross.
Salvation in recent years as often been viewed simply as a decision we made after a two hour sermon and an emotional song induced altar call which we reluctantly responded to. As a new Christians pastor for many years I explained to those who made this decision that this was the first day of their new lives. Meaning the process has begun but there are still many steps we must take to continue on this journey of salvation. At this point many people will argue that we are perfect in Christ. And certainly when we are in Christ God's view of us is of the pure and spotless bride, yet it is also true that many of us come into this new found relationship with baggage. I would even argue that all of us have baggage and it is this baggage that God lovingly and graciously deals with throughout our lives.
What we often forgot is that God is truly interested in our souls/hearts/spirits more than he is interested in simply fuzzy feelings we experienced in an altar call to receive Christ as Lord. I am fully convinced that God allows us to experience hurt and pain (trials of many kind) so that through those experiences we are able to see our true character and the condition of our hearts. By this, when we are honest and humble to admit our failings (sins) we are then able to invite King Jesus to deal with our short comings and weaknesses.
Through it all, the Holy Spirit is able to work in our lives and produce the fruit that will remain, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness..... when we invite him to do so.
God Bless
Monday, 29 August 2016
Monday, 22 August 2016
Spiritual Discernment
Paul in his book to the Corinthian Church explains that one of the gifts of the Spirit is discernment of spirits. That is understanding the spirit by which people or organisations are influenced or even subjected to. Subjection naturally speaks of kingdom, that is when we subject ourselves to a particular thing, everything relating to that thing have an influence upon us. When we subject our lives to King Jesus all the benefits of His Kingdom become ours, so long as we don't subject ourselves to other kingdoms or spirits.
I am rarely free on Sundays these days, but when I am my wife and I try to visit local churches in the area to see and hear what God is saying to these local congregations. An alarming thing I have noticed in the last 15 years or so, is the familiarity of things which are being said during services which don't sit right. One such thing is the term of "this house" and all that this house represents. I recently put this to prayer and asked the Holy Spirit to show me what was really being said by this comment and term. Amazingly as I watched a documentary on the Roman Empire, the narrator started to speak about temples the Romans built for their demigods and the term they used for them. The most common term for these temples was house and they spoke about the spirit of that house. Immediately I realised the Holy Spirit was revealing to me the reason why this kind of talk is infiltrating the church today. These spirits are continuing to have an influence on the body of Christ today and it is even coming out in our worship times!
Again another common saying we often hear in our congregations is "Welcome to the house of God" and whilst many of us would automatically see this as being appropriate to a place of worship that fact remains that we, God's body and people, are the only true houses or temples of the Holy Spirit. So when we meet together, we the temples of the Holy Spirit are joining together to bring worship and honour to King Jesus, the place or building in which we meet has little or even no bearing on the presence of God. Another common adjective we like to bring to offering sermons is that we are contributing to the work of God. Whilst this can be true, the reality remains that most of the funds we bring to the church today rarely are used to see souls saved. In fact the commandment to "go into the world and make disciples" is almost a lost cause for many congregations but more importantly for many believers.
Why do I say these things? Is it to be cynical or negative about the body of Christ today? Not at all, if Christ is the head of His body and I am a part of that body than I would be cynical towards Christ our Lord and myself as a part of His body. In fact I know that the only hope the world has is in Christ of which we the body are a part. I say this to make us his body aware and hopefully discerning of potential influence and harm that other spirits besides the Holy Spirit can have on our gatherings and most importantly upon us individually. We need to be aware in 1Peter5:8 as Peter said "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.."
God Bless
I am rarely free on Sundays these days, but when I am my wife and I try to visit local churches in the area to see and hear what God is saying to these local congregations. An alarming thing I have noticed in the last 15 years or so, is the familiarity of things which are being said during services which don't sit right. One such thing is the term of "this house" and all that this house represents. I recently put this to prayer and asked the Holy Spirit to show me what was really being said by this comment and term. Amazingly as I watched a documentary on the Roman Empire, the narrator started to speak about temples the Romans built for their demigods and the term they used for them. The most common term for these temples was house and they spoke about the spirit of that house. Immediately I realised the Holy Spirit was revealing to me the reason why this kind of talk is infiltrating the church today. These spirits are continuing to have an influence on the body of Christ today and it is even coming out in our worship times!
Again another common saying we often hear in our congregations is "Welcome to the house of God" and whilst many of us would automatically see this as being appropriate to a place of worship that fact remains that we, God's body and people, are the only true houses or temples of the Holy Spirit. So when we meet together, we the temples of the Holy Spirit are joining together to bring worship and honour to King Jesus, the place or building in which we meet has little or even no bearing on the presence of God. Another common adjective we like to bring to offering sermons is that we are contributing to the work of God. Whilst this can be true, the reality remains that most of the funds we bring to the church today rarely are used to see souls saved. In fact the commandment to "go into the world and make disciples" is almost a lost cause for many congregations but more importantly for many believers.
Why do I say these things? Is it to be cynical or negative about the body of Christ today? Not at all, if Christ is the head of His body and I am a part of that body than I would be cynical towards Christ our Lord and myself as a part of His body. In fact I know that the only hope the world has is in Christ of which we the body are a part. I say this to make us his body aware and hopefully discerning of potential influence and harm that other spirits besides the Holy Spirit can have on our gatherings and most importantly upon us individually. We need to be aware in 1Peter5:8 as Peter said "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.."
God Bless
Monday, 15 August 2016
Experience allows us the privilege of sight
When travelling on a train recently with my son into Sydney for the day I realised that as I was travelling with my back towards my destiny and my face/front to where we had come from that I had the advantage of time. And my son who was facing towards our destination had the disadvantage of time as it was limited to his perspective and view point.
When moving forward, our perspective in time is diminished. But experiences give us the advantage over time, enabling us to view from the advantage of experience and perspective what is really taking place. Time and therefore experience give us a broader and more mature outlook on our circumstances. In addition they enable us to know that in time everything works out for good, as Paul indicates in Romans.
When moving forward, our perspective in time is diminished. But experiences give us the advantage over time, enabling us to view from the advantage of experience and perspective what is really taking place. Time and therefore experience give us a broader and more mature outlook on our circumstances. In addition they enable us to know that in time everything works out for good, as Paul indicates in Romans.
Perceptions and Expectations
Growing up in Western Sydney in Australia for me was a very enjoyable, and though I never knew Christ until the age 17, I would almost describe as a blessed time. Though my parents were divorced at age 9 and we had a number of years which were a little uncertain, my upbringing was filled with lots of adventure and excitement. Living for some years on acreage gave me access to horses, motor bikes, cars and other luxuries that many living in the city would not know.
Along with this lifestyle came a certain stigma, that is we were known as "westies" a term to describe those who lived in western Sydney and with this stigma came the typical cliché descriptions. Westies were renown for their Ugg boot, flannelette shirts and dark blue jeans. During school times we wore desert boots to ensure our school uniform had the westie flavour. And though life in the west of Sydney was wonderful we always new that it came with a stigma or expectation from others that we were a certain kind of person with typical cliché expectations that hung over our lives.
Naturally, expectations we might have on people can be completely false and untrue. Rehab, the prostitute who assisted the spies to gain insight and understanding to the city of Jericho is once such person in who we would have certain expectations. And yet despite these worldly concepts and ideas we may have of a prostitute the Lord was able to bring and give access to the people of Israel to the promised land. As a result of her actions, she is one of the few women listed in the genealogy of Christ due to her marrying Salmon the father of Boaz.
Growing up within this environment of cliché I also fought against labelling or giving false perception to certain groups, yet as I grow older and more and more each day reflect upon the life I have lived and embrace change for the future, I know I in turn have certain expectations for certain people groups. As men, we often view our wives not so much in terms of their full potential but limit their potential by focussing on their abilities to fulfil their roles as a wife or a mother. I know I did this with my own wife, valuing more her role in what she can do for me rather than God's own specific and individual plan for her life. Indeed I believe it is my marriage to my wife that has led me down this path seeing it as a wifely duty and role.
In general we can place people groups in certain boxes and expect the outcome to be different. This in it's conception is insane yet we do it over and over again with each generation. As males, we must remove the gender typical ideas we have been raised to know about females and visa versa for as females towards men, and continue to embrace God's plans and individual hopes for every person. This will require that each of us seek not our own will but the will of our heavenly Father. This requires that we are Spirit led and not self seeking in our ways. It's all about God's kingdom coming in our lives and laying down our own.
God Bless
Along with this lifestyle came a certain stigma, that is we were known as "westies" a term to describe those who lived in western Sydney and with this stigma came the typical cliché descriptions. Westies were renown for their Ugg boot, flannelette shirts and dark blue jeans. During school times we wore desert boots to ensure our school uniform had the westie flavour. And though life in the west of Sydney was wonderful we always new that it came with a stigma or expectation from others that we were a certain kind of person with typical cliché expectations that hung over our lives.
Naturally, expectations we might have on people can be completely false and untrue. Rehab, the prostitute who assisted the spies to gain insight and understanding to the city of Jericho is once such person in who we would have certain expectations. And yet despite these worldly concepts and ideas we may have of a prostitute the Lord was able to bring and give access to the people of Israel to the promised land. As a result of her actions, she is one of the few women listed in the genealogy of Christ due to her marrying Salmon the father of Boaz.
Growing up within this environment of cliché I also fought against labelling or giving false perception to certain groups, yet as I grow older and more and more each day reflect upon the life I have lived and embrace change for the future, I know I in turn have certain expectations for certain people groups. As men, we often view our wives not so much in terms of their full potential but limit their potential by focussing on their abilities to fulfil their roles as a wife or a mother. I know I did this with my own wife, valuing more her role in what she can do for me rather than God's own specific and individual plan for her life. Indeed I believe it is my marriage to my wife that has led me down this path seeing it as a wifely duty and role.
In general we can place people groups in certain boxes and expect the outcome to be different. This in it's conception is insane yet we do it over and over again with each generation. As males, we must remove the gender typical ideas we have been raised to know about females and visa versa for as females towards men, and continue to embrace God's plans and individual hopes for every person. This will require that each of us seek not our own will but the will of our heavenly Father. This requires that we are Spirit led and not self seeking in our ways. It's all about God's kingdom coming in our lives and laying down our own.
God Bless
Monday, 1 August 2016
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 My Strength is made perfect in weakness
I have been reading a book called Heart and Mind. An amazing digression on the four gospels, examining mainly the purpose of their writings, that is to what group of believers and the main themes in their writing. It is by no accident that I am reading this particular book, recommended to me by a friend and colleague I have know since my teens, who together we are working out our salvation in the true sense. Recently in my daily readings I read 2Cor 12:8-10 and immediately the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about my life and how when I (we) are willing to confess our weaknesses to one another (as James instructs us to do), that God in what can only be described as our lowest points in life is strongest. When we are willing and able to confess our sins and acknowledge that we cannot or simply unable to do or be what is required, then Christ is able to do exceedingly above and beyond what we could hope or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
In fact the opposite of this is also true, that when we in our own strength, intellect, power, abilities, gifts and more, assume they we can do or be, that is when Christ is unable to intervene and help us. God wants us to acknowledge him in all our ways and in everything that we do, especially when we pretend to do it His name.
The writer of heart and mind Dr Alexander Shaia speaks of when in Mark's gospel, the ladies who go to the tomb the day after Christ's burial, are greeted by what we assume is an angel are instructed to meet Jesus in Galilee, not so much a place but a region and a metaphor for the wilderness. Yet in the book, the writer explains that the women don't run to meet their master, in fact their is no account in this gospel that they ever did, instead they flee in fear of the message given by this man dressed in white robes. If they were to meet Jesus at a particular place, then surely they would have did as asked instead of fleeing. Yet if Jesus was truly saying that I will meet you in the wilderness/desert place, alluding to Jesus being their in our weakest hours then this would confirm also what Paul says, in our weakness He is strong. When we are confronted with life's obstackles, trials and difficulties, this is when Jesus appears and is strong in our lives. A little like Jesus being present with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire of the book of Daniel.
Yesterday, as my wife and prayed together, my wife prayed "there two or three are together in unity there is Christ in the midst of them". When we are praying together, humbly, that is with contrite hearts before our God, not coming instead with pride or arrogance, this is when King Jesus is present and working mightily in our lives. We as the church of Christ Jesus in this world and amongst this generation need these kinds of prayers, it is when we pray with these kinds of hearts that our prayers are truly "effectual & fervent coming from a righteous" heart as James says.
In fact the opposite of this is also true, that when we in our own strength, intellect, power, abilities, gifts and more, assume they we can do or be, that is when Christ is unable to intervene and help us. God wants us to acknowledge him in all our ways and in everything that we do, especially when we pretend to do it His name.
The writer of heart and mind Dr Alexander Shaia speaks of when in Mark's gospel, the ladies who go to the tomb the day after Christ's burial, are greeted by what we assume is an angel are instructed to meet Jesus in Galilee, not so much a place but a region and a metaphor for the wilderness. Yet in the book, the writer explains that the women don't run to meet their master, in fact their is no account in this gospel that they ever did, instead they flee in fear of the message given by this man dressed in white robes. If they were to meet Jesus at a particular place, then surely they would have did as asked instead of fleeing. Yet if Jesus was truly saying that I will meet you in the wilderness/desert place, alluding to Jesus being their in our weakest hours then this would confirm also what Paul says, in our weakness He is strong. When we are confronted with life's obstackles, trials and difficulties, this is when Jesus appears and is strong in our lives. A little like Jesus being present with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire of the book of Daniel.
Yesterday, as my wife and prayed together, my wife prayed "there two or three are together in unity there is Christ in the midst of them". When we are praying together, humbly, that is with contrite hearts before our God, not coming instead with pride or arrogance, this is when King Jesus is present and working mightily in our lives. We as the church of Christ Jesus in this world and amongst this generation need these kinds of prayers, it is when we pray with these kinds of hearts that our prayers are truly "effectual & fervent coming from a righteous" heart as James says.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)