http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016 Hey, I'm JUST SAYIN'... Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog. I hope that the thoughts, insights and articles interest you and bless you. I'd love to have your input, so please feel free to post a comment. Please note that all comments will be moderated. Thanks for your co-operation. Radiant WebTools Sometimes I feel like this little kid. I try to walk in my God-given authority and many times I try too hard, relying on my own strength, wisdom and timing. I strive, push and force myself to make something happen and at times walk away discourgaed because nothing worked.Then...when Father God backs me up and I get into His presence, suddenly...Every believer's authority works the same way. When we strive and push we so often walk away without seeing anything change. But sometimes we get it right. We position ourselves in the Father's presence and in faith try again and all it takes is the Father's nod of agreement and 'Vroom' it happens!This ad, as cute as it is, paints a very vivid picture as to what we as believers need to do:- Don't give up- Get in the Father's presence- And celebrate when we get breakthrough. Ok, maybe freak out a bit too!We really do have amazing authority and power WHEN we rest in God's ability and learn to press in because of whose we are and who we are as sons. Daddy fills with joy when He can partner with us to see miracles happen. Could He be waiting to see who will be like a child and step out in faith? Sometimes I feel like this little kid. I try to walk in my God-given authority and many times I try too hard, relying on my own strength, wisdom and timing. I strive, push and force myself to make something happen and at times walk away discourgaed because nothing worked.Then...when Father God backs me up and I get into His presence, suddenly...Every believer's authority works the same way. When we strive and push we so often walk away without seeing anything change. But sometimes we get it right. We position ourselves in the Father's presence and in faith try again and all it takes is the Father's nod of agreement and 'Vroom' it happens!This ad, as cute as it is, paints a very vivid picture as to what we as believers need to do:- Don't give up- Get in the Father's presence- And celebrate when we get breakthrough. Ok, maybe freak out a bit too!We really do have amazing authority and power WHEN we rest in God's ability and learn to press in because of whose we are and who we are as sons. Daddy fills with joy when He can partner with us to see miracles happen. Could He be waiting to see who will be like a child and step out in faith? http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=41545 41545 Fri, 10 May 2013 02:18:00 +0000 I just received in the mail the latest depiction of The Bible on four DVDs. This miniseries, which recently appeared on TV in various nations, has been watched by a record number of viewers showing that The Bible and its message is far from irrelevant.Let me tell you, this miniseries is amazing! The quality is top notch. The acting is highly professional and the way it all tied togther in 10 hours of footage is nothing short of breathtaking. If you missed it on TV please do yourself a huge favour and purchase the DVDs. It has set a new standard in Biblical movies and something that will last generations. Here is the trailer for this miniseries to give you a taste of how good it is...I hope you enjoyed that! I just received in the mail the latest depiction of The Bible on four DVDs. This miniseries, which recently appeared on TV in various nations, has been watched by a record number of viewers showing that The Bible and its message is far from irrelevant.Let me tell you, this miniseries is amazing! The quality is top notch. The acting is highly professional and the way it all tied togther in 10 hours of footage is nothing short of breathtaking. If you missed it on TV please do yourself a huge favour and purchase the DVDs. It has set a new standard in Biblical movies and something that will last generations. Here is the trailer for this miniseries to give you a taste of how good it is...I hope you enjoyed that! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=41187 41187 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:26:00 +0000 God has been highlighting the critical issue of identity to me a lot lately. It seems that the majority of people I am ministering to, praying for and generally speaking with, discuss issues that are tied to a crisis of their true, God-given indentity.But a simple discussion about identity can become sterile and emotionally disconnected from the heart of what this is all about. I am seeing God take us into one of the most basic and common needs we all share...SONSHIP. Our identity is not an isolated aspect of our lives that only affects a certain area. No, it is the filter through which we view reality, others and circumstances. But what I want to specifically point out here is that the real issues at hand have to do with our position as either a son or an orphan (note: the term 'son' or 'sonship' used here is a gender neutral term referring to both male and female).The question I am confronted with quite often is whether a person is trapped in spiritual slavery, or walks in the assurance of spiritual sonship. With all that is said about human nature and how we function, it really does come down to this...is our view of self shaped by God (sons) or by what others are telling us (orphans)?Let me show you some clear differences between the two: - SON: Partners with the Father to establish His Kingdom. - ORPHAN: Builds his own kingdom, and is serving self. - SON: Owns the Father's vision and joyfully lives it. - ORPHAN: Serves only the parts of the vision they like, if at all. - SON: Is family-orientated. - ORPHAN: Is issue orientated where being right is most important (They will easily split over an issue) - SON: Will gladly submit to the Father's authority. - ORPHAN: Frequently questions decisions and directions from God. - SON: Builds into the lives of others, pulling out the gold within them. - ORPHAN: Is threatened by others and seeks to control them. - SON: Receives others into the big family of God without an agenda. - ORPHAN: Gathers people to themselves for personal use. - SON: Focusses on serving others and desires their well-being. - ORPHAN: Focusses on appearances, and how others can benefit them. - SON: Is transparent, sharing their feelings, thoughts and dreams. - ORPHAN: Very secretive and suspicious of others. Very closed. - SON: Is secure and receives correction well. - ORPHANS: Becomes defensive when corrected. They see correction as rejection and look for ways to blame others. - SON: Is in a process of maturity and not scared to fail at times. - ORPHAN: Will not step out and take risks. Crippled by a fear of failure. - SON: Is hopeful and expectant of a great future. - ORPHAN: Would rather focus on the past and the let downs. - SON: More concerned about buidling heathly relationships. - ORPHAN: More concerned about the rules and regulations. - SON: Shares a stake in the 'Family Business', knowing they have an amazing inheritance. - ORPHAN: Looks for short-cuts, the easy way out and the rewards. - SON: Stays loyal and firm when under fire. - ORPHAN: Looks for greener pastures and how best to serve self. - SON: Knows he is loved and accepted regardless of performance. - ORPHAN: Performs for acceptance and craves applause from others. - SON: Walks in the freedom of Christ - i.e. SOZO - saved, healed and delivered. - ORPHAN: Lives far below what Jesus paid for. - SON: Sees the supernatural reality as a normal way of life. - ORPHAN: Stands in judgment of what he cannot explain.So, as you can see the differences are huge. I am sure there are more that you can find, but the reason I write about this is so that it gives us a great evaluation tool to determine where we are positioned...as sons or orphans?How much are we missing out on because the orphan-spirit has become such a strong influence? What does it mean to live in the spirit of sonship with Father God? Does this change the way we live out our lives? Or, the way we pray and speak to God? Does it change the way we view others?I would like to encourage you to pray to God about this and give Him room to reveal to you where your identity lies. Are you a son or an orphan? God has been highlighting the critical issue of identity to me a lot lately. It seems that the majority of people I am ministering to, praying for and generally speaking with, discuss issues that are tied to a crisis of their true, God-given indentity.But a simple discussion about identity can become sterile and emotionally disconnected from the heart of what this is all about. I am seeing God take us into one of the most basic and common needs we all share...SONSHIP. Our identity is not an isolated aspect of our lives that only affects a certain area. No, it is the filter through which we view reality, others and circumstances. But what I want to specifically point out here is that the real issues at hand have to do with our position as either a son or an orphan (note: the term 'son' or 'sonship' used here is a gender neutral term referring to both male and female).The question I am confronted with quite often is whether a person is trapped in spiritual slavery, or walks in the assurance of spiritual sonship. With all that is said about human nature and how we function, it really does come down to this...is our view of self shaped by God (sons) or by what others are telling us (orphans)?Let me show you some clear differences between the two: - SON: Partners with the Father to establish His Kingdom. - ORPHAN: Builds his own kingdom, and is serving self. - SON: Owns the Father's vision and joyfully lives it. - ORPHAN: Serves only the parts of the vision they like, if at all. - SON: Is family-orientated. - ORPHAN: Is issue orientated where being right is most important (They will easily split over an issue) - SON: Will gladly submit to the Father's authority. - ORPHAN: Frequently questions decisions and directions from God. - SON: Builds into the lives of others, pulling out the gold within them. - ORPHAN: Is threatened by others and seeks to control them. - SON: Receives others into the big family of God without an agenda. - ORPHAN: Gathers people to themselves for personal use. - SON: Focusses on serving others and desires their well-being. - ORPHAN: Focusses on appearances, and how others can benefit them. - SON: Is transparent, sharing their feelings, thoughts and dreams. - ORPHAN: Very secretive and suspicious of others. Very closed. - SON: Is secure and receives correction well. - ORPHANS: Becomes defensive when corrected. They see correction as rejection and look for ways to blame others. - SON: Is in a process of maturity and not scared to fail at times. - ORPHAN: Will not step out and take risks. Crippled by a fear of failure. - SON: Is hopeful and expectant of a great future. - ORPHAN: Would rather focus on the past and the let downs. - SON: More concerned about buidling heathly relationships. - ORPHAN: More concerned about the rules and regulations. - SON: Shares a stake in the 'Family Business', knowing they have an amazing inheritance. - ORPHAN: Looks for short-cuts, the easy way out and the rewards. - SON: Stays loyal and firm when under fire. - ORPHAN: Looks for greener pastures and how best to serve self. - SON: Knows he is loved and accepted regardless of performance. - ORPHAN: Performs for acceptance and craves applause from others. - SON: Walks in the freedom of Christ - i.e. SOZO - saved, healed and delivered. - ORPHAN: Lives far below what Jesus paid for. - SON: Sees the supernatural reality as a normal way of life. - ORPHAN: Stands in judgment of what he cannot explain.So, as you can see the differences are huge. I am sure there are more that you can find, but the reason I write about this is so that it gives us a great evaluation tool to determine where we are positioned...as sons or orphans?How much are we missing out on because the orphan-spirit has become such a strong influence? What does it mean to live in the spirit of sonship with Father God? Does this change the way we live out our lives? Or, the way we pray and speak to God? Does it change the way we view others?I would like to encourage you to pray to God about this and give Him room to reveal to you where your identity lies. Are you a son or an orphan? http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=40359 40359 Tue, 5 Mar 2013 19:26:00 +0000 The level of victory from which we live is shaped by the degree to which we understand God's grace. For example, if I believe that God is angry and consistently condemns me, then I will live outside of His graceful love and acceptance as a dearly loved son. Or, if I believe that He abandons me when I fall into sin, then I will live with a fear of His wrath and punishment and resist His extended hand of graceful restoration.We shape our world by how we view God. If we see Him as a harsh Judge, then fear will rule and religion will dominate. But what glorious freedom occurs when we are awakened to the Fatherly love of God and His grace! Suddenly a joy erupts and a fresh outlook replaces the doom and gloom of religious effort.The Christian life really only makes sense in the context of Family. God is a Father, adopting the orphans of this world, bringing us into a place of belonging and giving us a new name. It all makes sense when seen through the eyes of Family.Scripture teaches us that Christ's righteousness covers the son and daughter of God in a way that our sins are not held against us and the record of failures are stricken from our account. God sees Christ's finished work all over you and me as the reality of His sacrifice covers our shortcomings. This is amazing news and God's glorious grace declares this truth.Romans 4:7-8 is stunning. Read this, 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.' Instead of God demanding an account for my sin, He imparts righteousness through Jesus, and wipes the record of sin. So what we have here is a transfer, Christ's righteousness for my depravity. What a deal!!!I am forgiven. It is done. It is finished. Jesus paid the price as my substitute. Now I choose to live daily under this reality and not allow anything to damage my identity in Him. It really is a choice.It is usually at this point that the highly religious folk get into a frizzle crying out in protest that if we continue to promote this message we will create compromising Christians who think they have a license to sin. They would say, 'Don't give them such a wide bearth. Don't describe this with such expansive freedom or else they will find a way to excuse sinful behaviour. After-all, the road is narrow.' Really? Yes, the road is narrow that leads to salvation because there are no other options but Jesus, but on the other side of that gate is a wide open expanse of God's glorious grace, mercy and love. It is bigger on the inside!The beauty of God's glorious grace leads us to God's abundant goodness. When a person gets a revelation of God's goodness it doesn't motivate them to sin more but rather motivates them to repent more. Look at Romans 2:4b, '...the goodness of God leads you to repentance...' To behold God's goodness is to want nothing more than to be as close to Him as possible. Sin then becomes an obstacle to what you really want. C'mon, what can possibly compare to being under the influence and blessing of God's goodness?I've noticed this in my own life. Through the years sin has lost it's attraction and power over me because I've tasted the goodness of God. Sin becomes a horrible interference and blockage to what I really want...HIM. Am I saying that I am free from sin? No, but I refuse to settle for the lie that I am a sinner. The Word of God calls me a saint, redeemed and set free by Jesus and sin now does not define me, though it may trip me up at times, it does not shape my choices as it used to. In this process of refining, God's grace is patient and ever-present, cutting away the things that hinder our relationship. You see, my Daddy in heaven wants me close to Him and when sin gets in the way He is quick to enable me to repent, reject it and enter into a revived state of sonship. Ahh, glorious grace!This is what God's glorious grace does to me. What does His grace do to you? Let me know, I'd love to have your input... The level of victory from which we live is shaped by the degree to which we understand God's grace. For example, if I believe that God is angry and consistently condemns me, then I will live outside of His graceful love and acceptance as a dearly loved son. Or, if I believe that He abandons me when I fall into sin, then I will live with a fear of His wrath and punishment and resist His extended hand of graceful restoration.We shape our world by how we view God. If we see Him as a harsh Judge, then fear will rule and religion will dominate. But what glorious freedom occurs when we are awakened to the Fatherly love of God and His grace! Suddenly a joy erupts and a fresh outlook replaces the doom and gloom of religious effort.The Christian life really only makes sense in the context of Family. God is a Father, adopting the orphans of this world, bringing us into a place of belonging and giving us a new name. It all makes sense when seen through the eyes of Family.Scripture teaches us that Christ's righteousness covers the son and daughter of God in a way that our sins are not held against us and the record of failures are stricken from our account. God sees Christ's finished work all over you and me as the reality of His sacrifice covers our shortcomings. This is amazing news and God's glorious grace declares this truth.Romans 4:7-8 is stunning. Read this, 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.' Instead of God demanding an account for my sin, He imparts righteousness through Jesus, and wipes the record of sin. So what we have here is a transfer, Christ's righteousness for my depravity. What a deal!!!I am forgiven. It is done. It is finished. Jesus paid the price as my substitute. Now I choose to live daily under this reality and not allow anything to damage my identity in Him. It really is a choice.It is usually at this point that the highly religious folk get into a frizzle crying out in protest that if we continue to promote this message we will create compromising Christians who think they have a license to sin. They would say, 'Don't give them such a wide bearth. Don't describe this with such expansive freedom or else they will find a way to excuse sinful behaviour. After-all, the road is narrow.' Really? Yes, the road is narrow that leads to salvation because there are no other options but Jesus, but on the other side of that gate is a wide open expanse of God's glorious grace, mercy and love. It is bigger on the inside!The beauty of God's glorious grace leads us to God's abundant goodness. When a person gets a revelation of God's goodness it doesn't motivate them to sin more but rather motivates them to repent more. Look at Romans 2:4b, '...the goodness of God leads you to repentance...' To behold God's goodness is to want nothing more than to be as close to Him as possible. Sin then becomes an obstacle to what you really want. C'mon, what can possibly compare to being under the influence and blessing of God's goodness?I've noticed this in my own life. Through the years sin has lost it's attraction and power over me because I've tasted the goodness of God. Sin becomes a horrible interference and blockage to what I really want...HIM. Am I saying that I am free from sin? No, but I refuse to settle for the lie that I am a sinner. The Word of God calls me a saint, redeemed and set free by Jesus and sin now does not define me, though it may trip me up at times, it does not shape my choices as it used to. In this process of refining, God's grace is patient and ever-present, cutting away the things that hinder our relationship. You see, my Daddy in heaven wants me close to Him and when sin gets in the way He is quick to enable me to repent, reject it and enter into a revived state of sonship. Ahh, glorious grace!This is what God's glorious grace does to me. What does His grace do to you? Let me know, I'd love to have your input... http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=38757 38757 Thu, 6 Dec 2012 22:53:00 +0000 Today I am confronted with the challenge of valuing God's mystery while at the same time not falling into the blame game. After a hard two year battle with cancer my dear friend Pastor Barry Butter's wife Loris went home to be with Jesus. It was a brutal fight with this ugly disease and the level of faith I witnessed from both of them was nothing short of extraordinary.But here is where the challenge is...she didn't want to go and many of us gathered around them, activating our faith and truly believing that she would be healed and be made whole. Her words were so inspiring as I would hear Loris say that she chooses life and that Jesus is her Healer. Barry would tell of the hours she spent seeking God, reading the Bible, praying and declaring in faith that she is healed. There were visions of victory, promises of hope and so much that suggested that she would pull through. Even yesterday seven of us pastors rallied around her hospital bed and spent awhile praying and pushing in for Loris's healing. The amount of faith in that room was so thick that I was sure that at any moment Loris would arise and receive her miracle. I honestly left there full of hope and confident that Jesus would honour the faith of so many.Then at about 6am this morning I got word that Loris passed away at 1:40am and that her battle is over. The shock of such news shattered me and I broke down in tears and struggled to get my head around it. In that confusing moment, my heart bled for Barry and his two grown children who are now left to push through what would be a wave of emotions and a battle of faith. My heart bled for the other pastors who prayed with such fervor and conviction in God's power to heal.This is a very sensitive place to be in because God's mystery of why He took Loris now and not heal her is at the forefront. The flesh wants to blame and cry out in protest, but the Spirit adds value and peace to what is unknown. What I do know is that just as Loris knows the inexpressible joy of being with Jesus face to face, the comfort, peace and love of Jesus here and now is as real as her new reality. Instead of blaming God, we are choosing to celebrate the life of a mighty woman of God, and be inspired by an awesome example of faith that held on to God in the midst of pain and trial and also trust in God's awesome majesty, power and love to sustain everyone through this.God tells us in Scripture that His ways and thoughts are not like ours and that's why learning to value God's mystery is crucial. He will do things that don't always make sense to our limited understanding. And He will not do things that we think He should. He will orchestrate events in ways that leave us clueless and even do something that we might never comprehend while in this world. The fact is, God is God and we are not. His unchanging attributes give us hope and bring us to Him with open arms, like a child reaching out to Daddy for that secure embrace.So as I pray for Barry and his children, I know Jesus is enough and in Him they will find their peace and comfort. I know the memory of Loris will carry on and be a living testimony of what it means to hold on to Jesus all the way. I am honoured to have known her and blessed to have been allowed into their journey of faith. One day Barry will see her again and we will all marvel at heaven's glory and the reunion will be breath-taking. That is our Christian hope. Today I am confronted with the challenge of valuing God's mystery while at the same time not falling into the blame game. After a hard two year battle with cancer my dear friend Pastor Barry Butter's wife Loris went home to be with Jesus. It was a brutal fight with this ugly disease and the level of faith I witnessed from both of them was nothing short of extraordinary.But here is where the challenge is...she didn't want to go and many of us gathered around them, activating our faith and truly believing that she would be healed and be made whole. Her words were so inspiring as I would hear Loris say that she chooses life and that Jesus is her Healer. Barry would tell of the hours she spent seeking God, reading the Bible, praying and declaring in faith that she is healed. There were visions of victory, promises of hope and so much that suggested that she would pull through. Even yesterday seven of us pastors rallied around her hospital bed and spent awhile praying and pushing in for Loris's healing. The amount of faith in that room was so thick that I was sure that at any moment Loris would arise and receive her miracle. I honestly left there full of hope and confident that Jesus would honour the faith of so many.Then at about 6am this morning I got word that Loris passed away at 1:40am and that her battle is over. The shock of such news shattered me and I broke down in tears and struggled to get my head around it. In that confusing moment, my heart bled for Barry and his two grown children who are now left to push through what would be a wave of emotions and a battle of faith. My heart bled for the other pastors who prayed with such fervor and conviction in God's power to heal.This is a very sensitive place to be in because God's mystery of why He took Loris now and not heal her is at the forefront. The flesh wants to blame and cry out in protest, but the Spirit adds value and peace to what is unknown. What I do know is that just as Loris knows the inexpressible joy of being with Jesus face to face, the comfort, peace and love of Jesus here and now is as real as her new reality. Instead of blaming God, we are choosing to celebrate the life of a mighty woman of God, and be inspired by an awesome example of faith that held on to God in the midst of pain and trial and also trust in God's awesome majesty, power and love to sustain everyone through this.God tells us in Scripture that His ways and thoughts are not like ours and that's why learning to value God's mystery is crucial. He will do things that don't always make sense to our limited understanding. And He will not do things that we think He should. He will orchestrate events in ways that leave us clueless and even do something that we might never comprehend while in this world. The fact is, God is God and we are not. His unchanging attributes give us hope and bring us to Him with open arms, like a child reaching out to Daddy for that secure embrace.So as I pray for Barry and his children, I know Jesus is enough and in Him they will find their peace and comfort. I know the memory of Loris will carry on and be a living testimony of what it means to hold on to Jesus all the way. I am honoured to have known her and blessed to have been allowed into their journey of faith. One day Barry will see her again and we will all marvel at heaven's glory and the reunion will be breath-taking. That is our Christian hope. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=38228 38228 Wed, 7 Nov 2012 01:51:00 +0000 I once heard Bill Johnson say that a great tradgedy is that for many Christians their view of God and the devil are terribly misinformed. Firstly, we need to know that satan is not the opposite of God but is a created being who fights against the heavenly angels like Gabriel. Secondly, the stolen authority that he took off Adam in the Garden of Eden was taken off him by Jesus at the cross and therefore he has no authority over us. And thirdly, his plug has been pulled and his limited power is decreasing every day.This is great news! What got me thinking on this was reading the following verse in Colossians 2:15, 'Having disarmed principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.' Isn't that an amazing verse? Have a read of how The Message paraphrase puts it, 'He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.' Ah, I love it!!!Stop for a moment and think about the implications of this. We don't fear a big, nasty and powerful devil because he is not that at all. Instead we stand with the mighty, unmatched and ultimate Saviour King Jesus who disarmed the devil and his demonic hordes and not only that but made a mockery of them at the cross. I must admit, I really enjoy that picture. I don't recall who it was but someone once noted that if satan had known what the cross of Christ achieved he would not have influenced the crowds to crucify Him.So to fear the works of satan or any evil force is to forget what Jesus actually accomplished. To fall into intimidation and get shut down by the devil's false and loud boasting is to ignore the moment of his shame. We cannot be defeated. We cannot be shut down. We cannot be silenced. We cannot be forced into sin. All that satan does to us comes through our agreement and permission because remember, he has no authority.So we live from the position of victory and not for victory. We don't fight to win because it's already won. This is not some rev-em-up pep talk, this is the awesome identity we carry and one that comes with our spiritual inheritance. Enjoy it and live it in such a way that Jesus' sacrificial act of love is honoured. I ask you, how does this truth change the way you view and approach your life, your calling, your purpose and your faith?Wow, I am yet again blown away by the magnitude of this. I once heard Bill Johnson say that a great tradgedy is that for many Christians their view of God and the devil are terribly misinformed. Firstly, we need to know that satan is not the opposite of God but is a created being who fights against the heavenly angels like Gabriel. Secondly, the stolen authority that he took off Adam in the Garden of Eden was taken off him by Jesus at the cross and therefore he has no authority over us. And thirdly, his plug has been pulled and his limited power is decreasing every day.This is great news! What got me thinking on this was reading the following verse in Colossians 2:15, 'Having disarmed principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.' Isn't that an amazing verse? Have a read of how The Message paraphrase puts it, 'He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.' Ah, I love it!!!Stop for a moment and think about the implications of this. We don't fear a big, nasty and powerful devil because he is not that at all. Instead we stand with the mighty, unmatched and ultimate Saviour King Jesus who disarmed the devil and his demonic hordes and not only that but made a mockery of them at the cross. I must admit, I really enjoy that picture. I don't recall who it was but someone once noted that if satan had known what the cross of Christ achieved he would not have influenced the crowds to crucify Him.So to fear the works of satan or any evil force is to forget what Jesus actually accomplished. To fall into intimidation and get shut down by the devil's false and loud boasting is to ignore the moment of his shame. We cannot be defeated. We cannot be shut down. We cannot be silenced. We cannot be forced into sin. All that satan does to us comes through our agreement and permission because remember, he has no authority.So we live from the position of victory and not for victory. We don't fight to win because it's already won. This is not some rev-em-up pep talk, this is the awesome identity we carry and one that comes with our spiritual inheritance. Enjoy it and live it in such a way that Jesus' sacrificial act of love is honoured. I ask you, how does this truth change the way you view and approach your life, your calling, your purpose and your faith?Wow, I am yet again blown away by the magnitude of this. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=38120 38120 Thu, 1 Nov 2012 00:15:00 +0000 It's funny how when we are signing up for Pay-TV or any other subscription based service, we want the full package! We want the extras at no cost, the bonuses in abundance and of course the wonderful feeling of knowing that we got a really sweet deal. We do the same with car deals, house deals and anything else that is meaningful. But why do we so easily settle for so little so quickly when it comes to our spiritual package?You see, for so long I just accepted only half of the deal, yet I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off or puting up with less of what was entitled to me. Truth is, I didn't know. Like the smiling salesmen, 'But there's more!' But when my eyes were opened to what was actually given to me and what came with what I received, I was then awakened to the huge, awesome, monumental package that I had in my possession. I'm talking about the full package given to you and I at Christ's expense.Don't get me wrong, I was and still am extremely grateful for my salvation because of Jesus' redeeming sacrifice. This one act of love, grace and mercy changed me forever and I am a new person because of it. But as the Holy Spirit began to show me that the saving grace of Jesus covers not only the condition of my soul and my eternal destiny, BUT ALSO my wholeness, healing and freedom from the works of the devil here and now, I could not contain my excitement at this amazing deal.I quickly embraced the glorious truth that the FULL PACKAGE includes I am saved, healed and delivered! Nothing less. I have access to the Father through the redemptive blood of Jesus, but I also have healing through His stripes and suffering (Isa. 53:4-5). Jesus took upon Himself the pain, sicknesses, diseases and all destructive forces to once and for all set you and I free from their curse. This is a complete work, total payment made and a vivid reality for those willing to access the full package.But why do we struggle so much and not access what Jesus makes available? Well, I've seen it time and time again, people get disappointed, disheartened and sadly some even create false doctrines that ease their discourgement because of a lack of experience and breakthrough. But there are those willing to not settle for a reality that doesn't look like what Jesus paid for. They see it as dishonoring Christ to not accept and access the full package.Remember...While it's not all about healing, the gospel is not complete without it.So I encourage you...just as you want the best deal in life's temporary pleasures, go after and lay hold of The Best deal ever known to mankind...saved, healed and delivered. Jesus paid for it and He gives it to you to enable you to walk in His abundant fullness. Never settle for only half of the deal, take it all. It's funny how when we are signing up for Pay-TV or any other subscription based service, we want the full package! We want the extras at no cost, the bonuses in abundance and of course the wonderful feeling of knowing that we got a really sweet deal. We do the same with car deals, house deals and anything else that is meaningful. But why do we so easily settle for so little so quickly when it comes to our spiritual package?You see, for so long I just accepted only half of the deal, yet I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off or puting up with less of what was entitled to me. Truth is, I didn't know. Like the smiling salesmen, 'But there's more!' But when my eyes were opened to what was actually given to me and what came with what I received, I was then awakened to the huge, awesome, monumental package that I had in my possession. I'm talking about the full package given to you and I at Christ's expense.Don't get me wrong, I was and still am extremely grateful for my salvation because of Jesus' redeeming sacrifice. This one act of love, grace and mercy changed me forever and I am a new person because of it. But as the Holy Spirit began to show me that the saving grace of Jesus covers not only the condition of my soul and my eternal destiny, BUT ALSO my wholeness, healing and freedom from the works of the devil here and now, I could not contain my excitement at this amazing deal.I quickly embraced the glorious truth that the FULL PACKAGE includes I am saved, healed and delivered! Nothing less. I have access to the Father through the redemptive blood of Jesus, but I also have healing through His stripes and suffering (Isa. 53:4-5). Jesus took upon Himself the pain, sicknesses, diseases and all destructive forces to once and for all set you and I free from their curse. This is a complete work, total payment made and a vivid reality for those willing to access the full package.But why do we struggle so much and not access what Jesus makes available? Well, I've seen it time and time again, people get disappointed, disheartened and sadly some even create false doctrines that ease their discourgement because of a lack of experience and breakthrough. But there are those willing to not settle for a reality that doesn't look like what Jesus paid for. They see it as dishonoring Christ to not accept and access the full package.Remember...While it's not all about healing, the gospel is not complete without it.So I encourage you...just as you want the best deal in life's temporary pleasures, go after and lay hold of The Best deal ever known to mankind...saved, healed and delivered. Jesus paid for it and He gives it to you to enable you to walk in His abundant fullness. Never settle for only half of the deal, take it all. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=37949 37949 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:58:00 +0000 CityWest Church is moving into larger and more permanent buildings and the next few weeks and months are going to be very, very busy. I will be juggling on-site workers, project managing whilst still leading the church and preparing for Sundays. It will be full-on but no doubt very rewarding at the end.So, I will be taking a short break from blogging and will only periodically post a blog when I feel it necessary and have something worth reading. Your prayers would be appreciated during the busy season.Thanks for reading! CityWest Church is moving into larger and more permanent buildings and the next few weeks and months are going to be very, very busy. I will be juggling on-site workers, project managing whilst still leading the church and preparing for Sundays. It will be full-on but no doubt very rewarding at the end.So, I will be taking a short break from blogging and will only periodically post a blog when I feel it necessary and have something worth reading. Your prayers would be appreciated during the busy season.Thanks for reading! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=37012 37012 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:26:00 +0000 A couple of weeks ago I and 12 others from our church attend the MORE Conference at Stairway Church with Peter McHugh, Bill Johnson and Rob Rufus. It was a pivotal 3 days and something that was much needed by many of us. There were of course many highlights and wonderful encounters with the Holy Spirit, but there were some things that were spoken that I can't seem to shake.Peter McHugh, Senior Minister of Stairway Church, has an amazing discernment and sensitivity to what God is saying in the moment. It was during one of his sessions that he shared something that God had shown him and how it relates to the church of Australia and the move of the Spirit. He said something like this...'At the recent Olympics, Australia, who was once the leading force in the swimming pool, walked away with less than what was expected. But in the sport of sailing the Australians rose up and took home gold in a number of events. God spoke to me about this saying, 'Swimmers rely on their own power to swim their event, yet the sailors rely on the WIND and a force outside of their ability to produce. All that the sailors do is read the direction of the wind, set sail and move along with the wind driving them forward.''Do you see the significance of that revelation? Peter went on to explain that God is bringing our nation into a revived power of the Holy Spirit, who, like the wind pushing along the sailing team, is also picking up speed to drive us along into our destiny as the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit. For too long we have relied on our own strength, wisdom, abilities and strategies. It is time for us to read the direction of where the Spirit is moving, go and join Him and enjoy the journey towards our destined victory!I sense this is a very significant word spoken to us. What we have tried to produce and sometimes even force will be done in a moment when the force of the Holy Spirit captures our 'sails' and takes us further and faster than we have ever been or ever can go in our own efforts. The rumblings of revival are increasing and many are hearing the sound and responding by positioning themselves in the manifest presence of God, ready to ride the wave and see our nation won for Jesus.There have been too many prophecies spoken over Australia for us to ignore this. I encourage you to make it all about God's presence so that when this tsunami wave of His glory and power falls we will not be surprised and caught unaware because we have been too busy and preoccupied with our own agendas and strategies. Get a fresh sense of the Person, power and presence of the Holy Spirit because HE alone will be the force that moves us into our prophectic destiny. Set sail dear friend because the wind of the Holy Spirit is starting to pick up. A couple of weeks ago I and 12 others from our church attend the MORE Conference at Stairway Church with Peter McHugh, Bill Johnson and Rob Rufus. It was a pivotal 3 days and something that was much needed by many of us. There were of course many highlights and wonderful encounters with the Holy Spirit, but there were some things that were spoken that I can't seem to shake.Peter McHugh, Senior Minister of Stairway Church, has an amazing discernment and sensitivity to what God is saying in the moment. It was during one of his sessions that he shared something that God had shown him and how it relates to the church of Australia and the move of the Spirit. He said something like this...'At the recent Olympics, Australia, who was once the leading force in the swimming pool, walked away with less than what was expected. But in the sport of sailing the Australians rose up and took home gold in a number of events. God spoke to me about this saying, 'Swimmers rely on their own power to swim their event, yet the sailors rely on the WIND and a force outside of their ability to produce. All that the sailors do is read the direction of the wind, set sail and move along with the wind driving them forward.''Do you see the significance of that revelation? Peter went on to explain that God is bringing our nation into a revived power of the Holy Spirit, who, like the wind pushing along the sailing team, is also picking up speed to drive us along into our destiny as the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit. For too long we have relied on our own strength, wisdom, abilities and strategies. It is time for us to read the direction of where the Spirit is moving, go and join Him and enjoy the journey towards our destined victory!I sense this is a very significant word spoken to us. What we have tried to produce and sometimes even force will be done in a moment when the force of the Holy Spirit captures our 'sails' and takes us further and faster than we have ever been or ever can go in our own efforts. The rumblings of revival are increasing and many are hearing the sound and responding by positioning themselves in the manifest presence of God, ready to ride the wave and see our nation won for Jesus.There have been too many prophecies spoken over Australia for us to ignore this. I encourage you to make it all about God's presence so that when this tsunami wave of His glory and power falls we will not be surprised and caught unaware because we have been too busy and preoccupied with our own agendas and strategies. Get a fresh sense of the Person, power and presence of the Holy Spirit because HE alone will be the force that moves us into our prophectic destiny. Set sail dear friend because the wind of the Holy Spirit is starting to pick up. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=36694 36694 Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:24:00 +0000 I've always known that our spoken words carry with them tremendous power to affect those around us that are on the receiving end of them. But when I read this article below from 'The Elijah List' the other day I was blown away...A 'Quantum' ChangeBy Kari Browning...Albert Einstein said everything is energy. Remember his formula E=mc squared? He believed that energy and matter were interchangeable.Everything is vibrating energy, including our bodies. Every word and every thought carries a certain vibrational frequency. A Japanese scientist, Dr. Masaru Emoto, proved this when he did an experiment with water. He found out that water is affected by words. He took water droplets and exposed them to various words. He froze them for three hours and then examined the crystal formations under a microscope. The results were totally astounding. When positive words were spoken over the water, it formed beautiful patterns. Negative words produced ugly patterns. Since our bodies are approximately 72% water, we know that our bodies are greatly affected by negative speech. He did another experiment with rice where he spoke 'I love you' to a jar of rice for 30 days. To another jar of rice, he spoke the words 'You fool.' After 30 days, the rice in the 'I love you' jar was white and the rice in the 'You fool' jar was black and rotten. (Facts taken from Dr. Emoto's book 'The Hidden Messages in Water'.)It amazes me how science is validating the Bible!Proverbs 12:18 - 'The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.'Proverbs 18:21 - 'The tongue has the power of life and death...'Proverbs 16:24 - 'Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.'Isn't that interesting? Our words carry amazing power to either destroy or build up, it really does come down to a choice. I have fallen into the trap where my words were used to damage far too many times. I've seen how this hurts and how people can be broken by what I say. I am not proud of that and I have made a wholehearted commitment to think before I speak so that my words carry life and not death. But it is a daily choice whether or not that will happen.At the top of every sermon I preach I have this verse, 'The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...' (Proverbs 10:11) It is something that I need to constantly be conscious about so that the listener is built up, encouraged and empowered to rise up as God's amazing son or daughter. Of course there are times when correction is needed, but again, how will I communicate this? If with words of love and a heart to empower then even the hard words are received with the right attitude and right result. I like to think of it this way...I can pull out the gold or uncover the garbage. Let's be honest, we all have 'garbage' in our lives that wants to stink it up. But we don't need help to state the obvious. By always uncovering the garbage people walk away so defeated and deflated that they get buried in the stench of what's wrong with them. But when we pull out the gold and celebrate the gold, then they shine and rise up to what you speak over them. I've seen this happen so many times and it is glorious!So, what are you doing to assure that your words are a fountain of life and not a pit of poison? We have a choice. I've always known that our spoken words carry with them tremendous power to affect those around us that are on the receiving end of them. But when I read this article below from 'The Elijah List' the other day I was blown away...A 'Quantum' ChangeBy Kari Browning...Albert Einstein said everything is energy. Remember his formula E=mc squared? He believed that energy and matter were interchangeable.Everything is vibrating energy, including our bodies. Every word and every thought carries a certain vibrational frequency. A Japanese scientist, Dr. Masaru Emoto, proved this when he did an experiment with water. He found out that water is affected by words. He took water droplets and exposed them to various words. He froze them for three hours and then examined the crystal formations under a microscope. The results were totally astounding. When positive words were spoken over the water, it formed beautiful patterns. Negative words produced ugly patterns. Since our bodies are approximately 72% water, we know that our bodies are greatly affected by negative speech. He did another experiment with rice where he spoke 'I love you' to a jar of rice for 30 days. To another jar of rice, he spoke the words 'You fool.' After 30 days, the rice in the 'I love you' jar was white and the rice in the 'You fool' jar was black and rotten. (Facts taken from Dr. Emoto's book 'The Hidden Messages in Water'.)It amazes me how science is validating the Bible!Proverbs 12:18 - 'The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.'Proverbs 18:21 - 'The tongue has the power of life and death...'Proverbs 16:24 - 'Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.'Isn't that interesting? Our words carry amazing power to either destroy or build up, it really does come down to a choice. I have fallen into the trap where my words were used to damage far too many times. I've seen how this hurts and how people can be broken by what I say. I am not proud of that and I have made a wholehearted commitment to think before I speak so that my words carry life and not death. But it is a daily choice whether or not that will happen.At the top of every sermon I preach I have this verse, 'The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...' (Proverbs 10:11) It is something that I need to constantly be conscious about so that the listener is built up, encouraged and empowered to rise up as God's amazing son or daughter. Of course there are times when correction is needed, but again, how will I communicate this? If with words of love and a heart to empower then even the hard words are received with the right attitude and right result. I like to think of it this way...I can pull out the gold or uncover the garbage. Let's be honest, we all have 'garbage' in our lives that wants to stink it up. But we don't need help to state the obvious. By always uncovering the garbage people walk away so defeated and deflated that they get buried in the stench of what's wrong with them. But when we pull out the gold and celebrate the gold, then they shine and rise up to what you speak over them. I've seen this happen so many times and it is glorious!So, what are you doing to assure that your words are a fountain of life and not a pit of poison? We have a choice. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=36327 36327 Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:28:00 +0000 I love the shift taking place in a lot of God's people as we are hungry for more of God. Not satisifed with the placid and powerless versions of Christianity that we have allowed to go on for so long, many are now realizing that the 'greater things' Jesus spoke of (John 14:12) are actually available to us.I recently have been challenged with the position from which I view life. That is, am I so wordly minded that I react to life from the limited understanding I have and only by how the external circumstances make me feel? Or, am I a man of faith whose faith is anchored in the unseen and as Bill Johnson describes, 'Faith that lives from the unseen towards the visible'?I then watched an interview with Pastor Garris Elkins about his book 'Prayers from the Throne of God' which described a shift in the way we pray, or better understood, the change in position from which we pray. I'm not talking about the position of praying on your knees or hands raised or standing up, but I mean the position from which your prayers are expressed.What I am learning to discover is that prayer that most immitates Jesus' prayer style is prayed FROM HEAVEN TOWARDS EARTH. Jesus lived His entire life, especially the ministry years, from that position. He said in John 5:19, '...the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son does also in like manner.' Again in John 12:49-50, 'For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.' Jesus modeled what it looked like to live from Heaven to Earth.But I want to specifically write about how this looks when we pray. I think we've lost the art of listening, resting and waiting for the Holy Spirit to guide and provide the words and direction of our prayers. Many times we rush through with a list of wants and some nice words of praise to feel good and then we move on to continue our busy lives. But what do you think might happen if we stopped long enough, soaked ourselves in God's presence enough and simply asked the Father, 'Lord, what are You saying and doing right now? How can I pray that through? How can I join you and co-labour with You to see Heaven invade earth?'What then occurs is a sensitivity to move in the Spirit and be moved by the Spirit. We start to see what God sees and then respond accordingly. Doesn't this add a freshness to prayer? Isn't it amazing to think that we can partner with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matt. 6:10)? Isn't it breathtaking to think that we can pull down Heaven's reality into ours and watch that superior reality overcome our inferior one? Wow, what would this do to the Church? To the world? Maybe you are among the growing number of believers willing to believe and begin praying from heaven to earth instead of earth to heaven. I love the shift taking place in a lot of God's people as we are hungry for more of God. Not satisifed with the placid and powerless versions of Christianity that we have allowed to go on for so long, many are now realizing that the 'greater things' Jesus spoke of (John 14:12) are actually available to us.I recently have been challenged with the position from which I view life. That is, am I so wordly minded that I react to life from the limited understanding I have and only by how the external circumstances make me feel? Or, am I a man of faith whose faith is anchored in the unseen and as Bill Johnson describes, 'Faith that lives from the unseen towards the visible'?I then watched an interview with Pastor Garris Elkins about his book 'Prayers from the Throne of God' which described a shift in the way we pray, or better understood, the change in position from which we pray. I'm not talking about the position of praying on your knees or hands raised or standing up, but I mean the position from which your prayers are expressed.What I am learning to discover is that prayer that most immitates Jesus' prayer style is prayed FROM HEAVEN TOWARDS EARTH. Jesus lived His entire life, especially the ministry years, from that position. He said in John 5:19, '...the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son does also in like manner.' Again in John 12:49-50, 'For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.' Jesus modeled what it looked like to live from Heaven to Earth.But I want to specifically write about how this looks when we pray. I think we've lost the art of listening, resting and waiting for the Holy Spirit to guide and provide the words and direction of our prayers. Many times we rush through with a list of wants and some nice words of praise to feel good and then we move on to continue our busy lives. But what do you think might happen if we stopped long enough, soaked ourselves in God's presence enough and simply asked the Father, 'Lord, what are You saying and doing right now? How can I pray that through? How can I join you and co-labour with You to see Heaven invade earth?'What then occurs is a sensitivity to move in the Spirit and be moved by the Spirit. We start to see what God sees and then respond accordingly. Doesn't this add a freshness to prayer? Isn't it amazing to think that we can partner with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matt. 6:10)? Isn't it breathtaking to think that we can pull down Heaven's reality into ours and watch that superior reality overcome our inferior one? Wow, what would this do to the Church? To the world? Maybe you are among the growing number of believers willing to believe and begin praying from heaven to earth instead of earth to heaven. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=36110 36110 Fri, 3 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000 For a long time I felt a little guilty for not having a clearer answer when asked what our five year, ten year and even twenty year plan was for the church. I would attend various church leadership seminars and conferences and be told that it is essential that we give the church a clear vision plan that is neatly packaged, with just the right words to inspire and motivate.While I believe there can be some benefits in having this, I always felt that it was more reliant upon a business type model than reliance upon the Holy Spirit. I would leave those gatherings feeling guilty and discouraged that I didn't have a clear, concise and definite plan for the future, but at the same time not really wanting one.Over the years I kept on asking God to somehow explain to me why I didn't have more details when so many around me were coming up with these grand plans, inspiring visions and colourful displays communicating their heart. All I could say is that we are going 'Somewhere over there' pointing to somewhere in the distance yet still unclear what exactly that will look like.I do admit that as time went on the guilty feeling decreased as I became more aware of how God was dealing with me and how it was ok to not have all of the answers and clarity of the details. I was greatly encouraged today when I watched this short clip from Garris Elkins posted on the Global Legacy website through whom I am doing the Leader Development Program through Bethel Church. Watch this clip and you'll see why it excited me so much... This has helped me understand me and why God leads me in this way. What awesome freedom to know that the only 'model' for leadership we really need is GOD close, near and illuminating enough ground just for the next step. I love that! Through His Word, which tells me that our relationship is voice activated, I can know enough for my present context. Then tomorrow I will make sure I am in His presence, hearing His voice and then take the next step. It is the Spirit-filled life lived in the vibrancy of the moment. This is so much fun!!!I am thrilled to be released from having to come up with something to satisfy the crowd when in reality God prefers close proximity to His voice and presence and then a faithful obedience to follow through with what He is doing right here, right now. That keeps us hanging on to every word. It keeps us dependant upon Him in a way that assures we don't go off on our own 'good ideas' while missing the 'God ideas'. I hope it helps you to realize that God wants relationship with you above what you think you need to do for Him. He wants YOU close, in His shadow and like a child stepping into Daddy's footprints you follow Him, not always knowing where you're going, but as long as He is walking with you you're ok. Be free to let go of the need to control this and just live in the freedom of His love. For a long time I felt a little guilty for not having a clearer answer when asked what our five year, ten year and even twenty year plan was for the church. I would attend various church leadership seminars and conferences and be told that it is essential that we give the church a clear vision plan that is neatly packaged, with just the right words to inspire and motivate.While I believe there can be some benefits in having this, I always felt that it was more reliant upon a business type model than reliance upon the Holy Spirit. I would leave those gatherings feeling guilty and discouraged that I didn't have a clear, concise and definite plan for the future, but at the same time not really wanting one.Over the years I kept on asking God to somehow explain to me why I didn't have more details when so many around me were coming up with these grand plans, inspiring visions and colourful displays communicating their heart. All I could say is that we are going 'Somewhere over there' pointing to somewhere in the distance yet still unclear what exactly that will look like.I do admit that as time went on the guilty feeling decreased as I became more aware of how God was dealing with me and how it was ok to not have all of the answers and clarity of the details. I was greatly encouraged today when I watched this short clip from Garris Elkins posted on the Global Legacy website through whom I am doing the Leader Development Program through Bethel Church. Watch this clip and you'll see why it excited me so much... This has helped me understand me and why God leads me in this way. What awesome freedom to know that the only 'model' for leadership we really need is GOD close, near and illuminating enough ground just for the next step. I love that! Through His Word, which tells me that our relationship is voice activated, I can know enough for my present context. Then tomorrow I will make sure I am in His presence, hearing His voice and then take the next step. It is the Spirit-filled life lived in the vibrancy of the moment. This is so much fun!!!I am thrilled to be released from having to come up with something to satisfy the crowd when in reality God prefers close proximity to His voice and presence and then a faithful obedience to follow through with what He is doing right here, right now. That keeps us hanging on to every word. It keeps us dependant upon Him in a way that assures we don't go off on our own 'good ideas' while missing the 'God ideas'. I hope it helps you to realize that God wants relationship with you above what you think you need to do for Him. He wants YOU close, in His shadow and like a child stepping into Daddy's footprints you follow Him, not always knowing where you're going, but as long as He is walking with you you're ok. Be free to let go of the need to control this and just live in the freedom of His love. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=35847 35847 Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:15:00 +0000 Jesus paid for everything! He paid for our forgiveness, freedom from sin's curse, salvation and a home in heaven and has given us direct access to a relationship with Father God. Jesus also paid for our healing, our deliverance and our position as sons and daughters who have been adopted into God's Family. While all of this is basic Christian doctrine, I wonder how many of us are actually living in the reality of these truths? Bill Johnson asks a similar question in his awesome book The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind. He writes: 'Why do people receive God's forgiveness but constantly live under the shadow of their failures? I used to willingly live under the guilt and shame of bad decisions from yesterday because I thought it helped me walk in humility...Others similarly resist forgiveness because they don't want to be prideful. Remembering how rotten they are makes them feel good, but it's actually a subtle form of pride.' Bill goes on to write, 'Probably 95% or more of all counseling that churches undertake is simply to help people stop questioning what God has said and to stop questioning who we are in Christ. We are the people God loves, the people God forgives. We are the House of God, the gate of Heaven on earth...Who are you brother or sister? You are the person that God hangs around with. You are clean and forgiven. That is your identity!'The freedom is ours right now. We don't have to earn it, work for it, pay for it or perform to receive it. The reality of living in Jesus' finished work has never left us, but we must make a choice to take it and step out of the shadow of our failures. I've met many Christians throughout the years that just can't seem to get over a particular sin, or mistake. It seems that their failures have claws that have latched on so strongly that all past attempts have been powerless. What then happens is that they settle for an inferior reality and never go after the freedom paid for by Jesus.I guess the reason I wanted to write this blog post is because I really long to see the people of God rise up and walk in their true identity. I see an identity crisis wherever I go and I truly believe that when we see what God sees and activate our faith to live in what Jesus made available, our world would look very different. So my encouragement to you today is to remind you that you are a supernatural son or daughter of the Father. You have direct access to His Kingdom's reality and you are set apart to represent Him in ways that will see His presence invade wherever you go. You are living under an open heaven and the same power and authority that flowed through Jesus, His disciples, the Apostle Paul and many others throughout history, also belongs to you.Dear friend, go for it. Honour Jesus with a life of radical faith and step out of the shadow of your failures and into the light of your redeemed and forgiven identity. I look forward to seeing God's people shine in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us. And as you know, light is always a more superior power to darkness. You are made to make a difference and see the Kingdom invade this world. That is our privilege, our joy and our calling. Jesus paid for everything! He paid for our forgiveness, freedom from sin's curse, salvation and a home in heaven and has given us direct access to a relationship with Father God. Jesus also paid for our healing, our deliverance and our position as sons and daughters who have been adopted into God's Family. While all of this is basic Christian doctrine, I wonder how many of us are actually living in the reality of these truths? Bill Johnson asks a similar question in his awesome book The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind. He writes: 'Why do people receive God's forgiveness but constantly live under the shadow of their failures? I used to willingly live under the guilt and shame of bad decisions from yesterday because I thought it helped me walk in humility...Others similarly resist forgiveness because they don't want to be prideful. Remembering how rotten they are makes them feel good, but it's actually a subtle form of pride.' Bill goes on to write, 'Probably 95% or more of all counseling that churches undertake is simply to help people stop questioning what God has said and to stop questioning who we are in Christ. We are the people God loves, the people God forgives. We are the House of God, the gate of Heaven on earth...Who are you brother or sister? You are the person that God hangs around with. You are clean and forgiven. That is your identity!'The freedom is ours right now. We don't have to earn it, work for it, pay for it or perform to receive it. The reality of living in Jesus' finished work has never left us, but we must make a choice to take it and step out of the shadow of our failures. I've met many Christians throughout the years that just can't seem to get over a particular sin, or mistake. It seems that their failures have claws that have latched on so strongly that all past attempts have been powerless. What then happens is that they settle for an inferior reality and never go after the freedom paid for by Jesus.I guess the reason I wanted to write this blog post is because I really long to see the people of God rise up and walk in their true identity. I see an identity crisis wherever I go and I truly believe that when we see what God sees and activate our faith to live in what Jesus made available, our world would look very different. So my encouragement to you today is to remind you that you are a supernatural son or daughter of the Father. You have direct access to His Kingdom's reality and you are set apart to represent Him in ways that will see His presence invade wherever you go. You are living under an open heaven and the same power and authority that flowed through Jesus, His disciples, the Apostle Paul and many others throughout history, also belongs to you.Dear friend, go for it. Honour Jesus with a life of radical faith and step out of the shadow of your failures and into the light of your redeemed and forgiven identity. I look forward to seeing God's people shine in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us. And as you know, light is always a more superior power to darkness. You are made to make a difference and see the Kingdom invade this world. That is our privilege, our joy and our calling. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=35135 35135 Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:27:00 +0000 Go ahead, I know you want to sing it...'I'VE GOT THE POWER!' There, feels better doesn't it? Sure it's not a Christian song, but that statement is filled with a load of truth. You see, as Christians living in this day and age we seem to have lost something. No, its not your keys, which I am sure you would love to know how they grew legs and vanished. No its not weight, although there's a good idea. What I am referring to is SUPERNATURAL POWER.I have been asking myself and the church, 'Where has the power gone? Are we really that different to the Church in the Book of Acts and many throughout the ages who functioned in supernatural power?' Is the Holy Spirit's power running on empty? No way! What I have learnt from Bill Johnson is that the lack is never on God's end, it is on ours. While the devil's power is decreasing because his plug has been pulled ages ago, ours has never changed since day dot. The same power in you and I is as it was in Jesus when He walked this earth, as it was also in the disciples and the Apostle Paul. The same power in us is as it was in the great healing revivalists and mighty men and women of faith whom we look on in wonder and amazement. Same, same. Never decreased...SAME.Want to be messed up even more? Read this jaw-dropping testimony from John G. Lake: 'I was absent from the city of Spokane for a time, and when I returned, Mrs. Lake was not at home. It was just time to leave for my afternoon service when someone came in and said, 'Your secretary, Mrs. Graham, is in the throes of death. Your wife is with her'. 'Immediately I hurried to the place. One of my ministers' wives met me at the door and said, 'You are too late; she is gone'. 'As I stepped inside, the minister was coming out of the room. He said, 'She has not breathed for a long time'.'But looking on that woman, I thought of how God Almighty had raised her out of death three years before; how He had miraculously given her back her womb, ovaries and tubes which had been removed in operations; how she had married and conceived a child. 'As these thoughts arose, my heart flamed! 'I took that woman up off the pillow and called on God for the lightnings of heaven to blast the power of death and deliver her. I commanded her to come back and stay. She came back after having not breathed for 23 minutes!' Are you up off the floor yet? If you missed the power of what you just read, read it again. This tesimony has shaken me up and stuck with me all day. What power is this? Same, same. Where is this power? Same Holy Spirit. What other questions could I possibly ask to make this sit somewhere that I am comfortable with?What is becoming more and more obvious to me is that God is awakening in me and others that I am doing life with, to believe and expect for the greater things that Jesus promised in John 14:12. These evidences of His awesome power through those willing to take Him as His word are wrecking me. So yes, 'I've got the power', but I am now responsible to make it my reality. Again, the lack is not on God's end, it's on mine, but I am in no way ok with that. As far as I'm concerned, I have no other options now. What can I possibly go back to?Tell me, what is God doing in you? What does reading such a tesimony do to you? I'd love to know your journey for more of God and His power. Let's go for it because when we are IN Christ we are also called into His power. Go ahead, I know you want to sing it...'I'VE GOT THE POWER!' There, feels better doesn't it? Sure it's not a Christian song, but that statement is filled with a load of truth. You see, as Christians living in this day and age we seem to have lost something. No, its not your keys, which I am sure you would love to know how they grew legs and vanished. No its not weight, although there's a good idea. What I am referring to is SUPERNATURAL POWER.I have been asking myself and the church, 'Where has the power gone? Are we really that different to the Church in the Book of Acts and many throughout the ages who functioned in supernatural power?' Is the Holy Spirit's power running on empty? No way! What I have learnt from Bill Johnson is that the lack is never on God's end, it is on ours. While the devil's power is decreasing because his plug has been pulled ages ago, ours has never changed since day dot. The same power in you and I is as it was in Jesus when He walked this earth, as it was also in the disciples and the Apostle Paul. The same power in us is as it was in the great healing revivalists and mighty men and women of faith whom we look on in wonder and amazement. Same, same. Never decreased...SAME.Want to be messed up even more? Read this jaw-dropping testimony from John G. Lake: 'I was absent from the city of Spokane for a time, and when I returned, Mrs. Lake was not at home. It was just time to leave for my afternoon service when someone came in and said, 'Your secretary, Mrs. Graham, is in the throes of death. Your wife is with her'. 'Immediately I hurried to the place. One of my ministers' wives met me at the door and said, 'You are too late; she is gone'. 'As I stepped inside, the minister was coming out of the room. He said, 'She has not breathed for a long time'.'But looking on that woman, I thought of how God Almighty had raised her out of death three years before; how He had miraculously given her back her womb, ovaries and tubes which had been removed in operations; how she had married and conceived a child. 'As these thoughts arose, my heart flamed! 'I took that woman up off the pillow and called on God for the lightnings of heaven to blast the power of death and deliver her. I commanded her to come back and stay. She came back after having not breathed for 23 minutes!' Are you up off the floor yet? If you missed the power of what you just read, read it again. This tesimony has shaken me up and stuck with me all day. What power is this? Same, same. Where is this power? Same Holy Spirit. What other questions could I possibly ask to make this sit somewhere that I am comfortable with?What is becoming more and more obvious to me is that God is awakening in me and others that I am doing life with, to believe and expect for the greater things that Jesus promised in John 14:12. These evidences of His awesome power through those willing to take Him as His word are wrecking me. So yes, 'I've got the power', but I am now responsible to make it my reality. Again, the lack is not on God's end, it's on mine, but I am in no way ok with that. As far as I'm concerned, I have no other options now. What can I possibly go back to?Tell me, what is God doing in you? What does reading such a tesimony do to you? I'd love to know your journey for more of God and His power. Let's go for it because when we are IN Christ we are also called into His power. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=34723 34723 Thu, 31 May 2012 23:40:00 +0000 Not much impresses us these days. We live in a very skeptical culture and even when something is done phenominally well many think its their right and duty to pick holes in it and cut it down to size. Being a Critic is no longer a poor character trait, it has become a well-paying job! Having a whinge and complaining has become a valued art form with websites now encouraging the public to leave their scathing comments about businesses, people and topics for all to see. We applaud this now. So, we have found ourselves in a culture where not much is valued, nothing is a big deal and everything can be explained and argued about and we don't hold much sacred anymore.The tragic thing is when this mindset leaks into the church. We have bred a culture of 'critics' who sit in their comfortable chairs, pick apart the musicians, judge the preacher, grade the pastor, comment on everything and then walk away feeling content that they have done their bit! I've met so many of these 'professional' Christian Critics that it breaks my heart.But this becomes a serious issue when we stand in judgement, not of man, but of God, in particular the Holy Spirit. We have come to a point where we fear the excesses that have damaged the church in the past and now shut down any sign that looks like it might get out of control. I've had to fight this in my life and in my reactions to the Holy Spirit because I never grew up expecting Him to doing anything or reveal Himself. But how glorious when we open ourselves up to the wonder of His nature!As we are approaching Pentecost Sunday I am reminded once again of that glorious moment when the Holy Spirit came with a mighty baptism of power and fire upon the unsuspecting disciples. A defining moment that was promised by Jesus as He told them to wait until it happened. It was such a significant moment that everything from that point changed and the world was never the same again. Read it again: 'When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.' - Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) I love this 'suddenly' moment. But think about this for a second...what if this 'suddenly' happened in your church service this weekend? Would you be amazed and astonished, or annoyed and aggrivated? Would you attempt to shut down the commotion because, 'that is not how we behave here', or would you embrace it and soak in the glory of the moment? Would the supernatural scare you or draw you in?Even the disciples at this point were confronted with differing opinions. Some where blown away by the awesome supernatural nature of it and others were exercising their critical judgements. Look at this, 'So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'Whatever could this mean?' Others mocking said, 'They are full of new wine.'' - Acts 2:12-13 (NKJV). I can hear it now...'Ah, these crazy charismaniacs! Shut up already!!!'As we move into an era where the glory of God, the magnificence of His presence and the outpouring of His power comes in greater waves upon the Church, I pray that we are positioned to receive Him when He comes in ways that break apart our self-made theological boxes and challenges what we thought we knew about Him. Yes, be watchful and alert to any deception and trust that the Holy Spirit will awaken you to any lies. But please let's not become so resistant where we lose the amazement and astonishment of God and miss out on enjoying the awe of His invasion. Let's embrace what Pentecost represents and cry out for God to do it again! Not much impresses us these days. We live in a very skeptical culture and even when something is done phenominally well many think its their right and duty to pick holes in it and cut it down to size. Being a Critic is no longer a poor character trait, it has become a well-paying job! Having a whinge and complaining has become a valued art form with websites now encouraging the public to leave their scathing comments about businesses, people and topics for all to see. We applaud this now. So, we have found ourselves in a culture where not much is valued, nothing is a big deal and everything can be explained and argued about and we don't hold much sacred anymore.The tragic thing is when this mindset leaks into the church. We have bred a culture of 'critics' who sit in their comfortable chairs, pick apart the musicians, judge the preacher, grade the pastor, comment on everything and then walk away feeling content that they have done their bit! I've met so many of these 'professional' Christian Critics that it breaks my heart.But this becomes a serious issue when we stand in judgement, not of man, but of God, in particular the Holy Spirit. We have come to a point where we fear the excesses that have damaged the church in the past and now shut down any sign that looks like it might get out of control. I've had to fight this in my life and in my reactions to the Holy Spirit because I never grew up expecting Him to doing anything or reveal Himself. But how glorious when we open ourselves up to the wonder of His nature!As we are approaching Pentecost Sunday I am reminded once again of that glorious moment when the Holy Spirit came with a mighty baptism of power and fire upon the unsuspecting disciples. A defining moment that was promised by Jesus as He told them to wait until it happened. It was such a significant moment that everything from that point changed and the world was never the same again. Read it again: 'When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.' - Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) I love this 'suddenly' moment. But think about this for a second...what if this 'suddenly' happened in your church service this weekend? Would you be amazed and astonished, or annoyed and aggrivated? Would you attempt to shut down the commotion because, 'that is not how we behave here', or would you embrace it and soak in the glory of the moment? Would the supernatural scare you or draw you in?Even the disciples at this point were confronted with differing opinions. Some where blown away by the awesome supernatural nature of it and others were exercising their critical judgements. Look at this, 'So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'Whatever could this mean?' Others mocking said, 'They are full of new wine.'' - Acts 2:12-13 (NKJV). I can hear it now...'Ah, these crazy charismaniacs! Shut up already!!!'As we move into an era where the glory of God, the magnificence of His presence and the outpouring of His power comes in greater waves upon the Church, I pray that we are positioned to receive Him when He comes in ways that break apart our self-made theological boxes and challenges what we thought we knew about Him. Yes, be watchful and alert to any deception and trust that the Holy Spirit will awaken you to any lies. But please let's not become so resistant where we lose the amazement and astonishment of God and miss out on enjoying the awe of His invasion. Let's embrace what Pentecost represents and cry out for God to do it again! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=34550 34550 Thu, 24 May 2012 03:22:00 +0000 Jesus prayed a deeply moving prayer (see John 17) hours away from His brutal death. His heart was focused and ready for what was ahead, yet His words did not reflect a man that would usually be in turmoil knowing the agony that awaited Him. In these final quiet moments, just before His Garden of Gethsemane heartcry to the Father, Jesus did not pray endless prayers asking for help, or pray about the events that would soon surround Him. Instead He prayed for us! In His words Jesus revealed His heart for those given to Him by the Father. You can tell a lot about a man's final words and Jesus' words show us a deep desire for His people to love each other with the same love that unites Him and the Father. He shows a heart for unity greater than that ever seen before. But Jesus also adds the reason for this, '...that the world may believe that You sent Me.' (John 17:21). Yes, our unity is a witness to the world that we belong to a greater Kingdom, whose Great King is Jesus! We function under a different set of values as we selflessly co-labour with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as in heaven. Our witness shows a people that have abandoned their own agendas to join our King's. Now, what has been amazing me is how this looks today. In my town are many churches but what is happening is that the pastors are connecting with each other and deep, personal friendships are growing. We are starting to see combined church events be born and the hunger in the churches is increasing for more of this. We are preaching in each other's churches, having dinner together, dreaming together and praying together. It really is an amazing expression of Jesus' heart and I am so blessed to be involved.But it gets bigger. Last Tuesday I attended the Empowered Pastors monthly gathering at Stairway Church, hosted by their Senior Minister Peter McHugh. In this meeting you will see many pastors and leaders from around our state and nation, uniting with the common heart of seeking God's will for our region and how we can bring the reality of God's Kingdom into our realm. As I was looking around that large room of awesome leaders I was once again touched by how the heart of Jesus was being expressed. I really could feel the smile of God upon us!!!My prayer is that this unity spreads across all man-made divisions, denominations and networks. Imagine the joy in the Father's heart as He sees His kids getting along and working together instead of against each other. Imagine the thrill Jesus has when He sees His Church increasing in strength as they walk together and focus on what they have in common instead of what divides them. Imagine the Holy Spirit's excitement to see His power flow without restriction caused by offense. Can you begin to sense that this is what Jesus prayed about? We really are a part of something supernatural. Jesus prayed a deeply moving prayer (see John 17) hours away from His brutal death. His heart was focused and ready for what was ahead, yet His words did not reflect a man that would usually be in turmoil knowing the agony that awaited Him. In these final quiet moments, just before His Garden of Gethsemane heartcry to the Father, Jesus did not pray endless prayers asking for help, or pray about the events that would soon surround Him. Instead He prayed for us! In His words Jesus revealed His heart for those given to Him by the Father. You can tell a lot about a man's final words and Jesus' words show us a deep desire for His people to love each other with the same love that unites Him and the Father. He shows a heart for unity greater than that ever seen before. But Jesus also adds the reason for this, '...that the world may believe that You sent Me.' (John 17:21). Yes, our unity is a witness to the world that we belong to a greater Kingdom, whose Great King is Jesus! We function under a different set of values as we selflessly co-labour with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as in heaven. Our witness shows a people that have abandoned their own agendas to join our King's. Now, what has been amazing me is how this looks today. In my town are many churches but what is happening is that the pastors are connecting with each other and deep, personal friendships are growing. We are starting to see combined church events be born and the hunger in the churches is increasing for more of this. We are preaching in each other's churches, having dinner together, dreaming together and praying together. It really is an amazing expression of Jesus' heart and I am so blessed to be involved.But it gets bigger. Last Tuesday I attended the Empowered Pastors monthly gathering at Stairway Church, hosted by their Senior Minister Peter McHugh. In this meeting you will see many pastors and leaders from around our state and nation, uniting with the common heart of seeking God's will for our region and how we can bring the reality of God's Kingdom into our realm. As I was looking around that large room of awesome leaders I was once again touched by how the heart of Jesus was being expressed. I really could feel the smile of God upon us!!!My prayer is that this unity spreads across all man-made divisions, denominations and networks. Imagine the joy in the Father's heart as He sees His kids getting along and working together instead of against each other. Imagine the thrill Jesus has when He sees His Church increasing in strength as they walk together and focus on what they have in common instead of what divides them. Imagine the Holy Spirit's excitement to see His power flow without restriction caused by offense. Can you begin to sense that this is what Jesus prayed about? We really are a part of something supernatural. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=34192 34192 Thu, 10 May 2012 01:40:00 +0000 For awhile now I have been thoroughly enjoying Bethel Church's latest worship CD titled 'The Loft Sessions'. I LOVE passionate worshippers and these guys are blessed with an abundance of them!But what this new release does is break free from your typical style of worship music and take us into something fresh. With my first listen I was captivated by a sound that was so filled with passion and a deep yearning for God's presence that it was contagious. I found myself in a place of intimacy and closeness with God that I am still enjoying the fruit of such an encounter.To show you what I mean, watch this clip and allow the Holy Spirit to consume you...Do yourself a favour and buy this CD, you will not be disappointed! For awhile now I have been thoroughly enjoying Bethel Church's latest worship CD titled 'The Loft Sessions'. I LOVE passionate worshippers and these guys are blessed with an abundance of them!But what this new release does is break free from your typical style of worship music and take us into something fresh. With my first listen I was captivated by a sound that was so filled with passion and a deep yearning for God's presence that it was contagious. I found myself in a place of intimacy and closeness with God that I am still enjoying the fruit of such an encounter.To show you what I mean, watch this clip and allow the Holy Spirit to consume you...Do yourself a favour and buy this CD, you will not be disappointed! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=33791 33791 Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:02:00 +0000 Francis Chan wrote a great book titled 'The Forgotten God' which speaks of the ability we have to not establish a strong connection to the Holy Spirit and thus miss out on all that He offers. Sadly I understand this all too well. I grew up in a church environment where any mention of the Holy Spirit was usually in the criticism of those 'crazed' Charismatics who are so far gone that we must have nothing to do with their wild antics. Funny how things change because I now find myself one of them!!!My version of the Trinity used to be Father, Son and Holy Bible, but I realize now how much of the Holy Spirit was kept hidden for fear of extremes and losing control. The Spirit was silenced and never permitted to 'interrupt' our church activities. He was restricted from having room to reveal His power and therefore the version of faith that I had come to know was an inferior imitation of the real thing. It became so man-centred and self dependant that we really didn't need the Holy Spirit to ever show up because we could manage without Him. I look back on that and my heart breaks because for so long I was prevented from knowing Him, from loving Him and from walking in His power and presence. But a few years ago I was awakened to the Holy Spirit's Personhood, presence and power and it was like meeting my best friend for the first time. Getting to know Him has been my greatest joy because He is the representation of God to His people today. I love the way He reveals Jesus to me which makes me love Him even more. I love the way He grips me and causes me to feel what He feels, see what He sees and hear what He hears. I love it how He walks with me in a co-labouring relationship, taking me on an amazing adventure of faith in His supernatural realm. I love how He comforts, protects and carries me.With the joy of my relationship with God the Holy Spirit I have become very aware that my thoughts, words and deeds have the potential to grieve Him and quench His effective power in and through me. In Ephesians 4:30 we are told, '...do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God...' and suddenly I realized that my sin affected God personally. I can cause Him grief. Therefore because we share a love relationship I must protect His heart from the pain that I can cause. This adds a deeper dimension to sin doesn't it?But then in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 we're also told, 'Do not quench the Spirit.'. Bill Johnson describes this 'quenching' as stopping the flow of the Spirit. Bill goes on to write, 'As the Holy Spirit is ready to bring salvation, healing, and deliverance, we are to flow with Him. Failure to do so hinders His efforts to bring us into the supernatural'. Imagine that, I have the potential to hinder God's efforts! I can quench Him. You can quench Him. That is almost too much to bear. This just goes to show how important the Holy Spirit is to us and how crucial it is for you and I to give Him room to be God in us and through us. If I want to be involved in seeing the impossibilities bow to the name of Jesus then I had better make sure the Holy Spirit is free to flow in my life. It is HIS realm of the supernatural that brings Heaven's reality crashing into ours. Francis Chan wrote a great book titled 'The Forgotten God' which speaks of the ability we have to not establish a strong connection to the Holy Spirit and thus miss out on all that He offers. Sadly I understand this all too well. I grew up in a church environment where any mention of the Holy Spirit was usually in the criticism of those 'crazed' Charismatics who are so far gone that we must have nothing to do with their wild antics. Funny how things change because I now find myself one of them!!!My version of the Trinity used to be Father, Son and Holy Bible, but I realize now how much of the Holy Spirit was kept hidden for fear of extremes and losing control. The Spirit was silenced and never permitted to 'interrupt' our church activities. He was restricted from having room to reveal His power and therefore the version of faith that I had come to know was an inferior imitation of the real thing. It became so man-centred and self dependant that we really didn't need the Holy Spirit to ever show up because we could manage without Him. I look back on that and my heart breaks because for so long I was prevented from knowing Him, from loving Him and from walking in His power and presence. But a few years ago I was awakened to the Holy Spirit's Personhood, presence and power and it was like meeting my best friend for the first time. Getting to know Him has been my greatest joy because He is the representation of God to His people today. I love the way He reveals Jesus to me which makes me love Him even more. I love the way He grips me and causes me to feel what He feels, see what He sees and hear what He hears. I love it how He walks with me in a co-labouring relationship, taking me on an amazing adventure of faith in His supernatural realm. I love how He comforts, protects and carries me.With the joy of my relationship with God the Holy Spirit I have become very aware that my thoughts, words and deeds have the potential to grieve Him and quench His effective power in and through me. In Ephesians 4:30 we are told, '...do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God...' and suddenly I realized that my sin affected God personally. I can cause Him grief. Therefore because we share a love relationship I must protect His heart from the pain that I can cause. This adds a deeper dimension to sin doesn't it?But then in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 we're also told, 'Do not quench the Spirit.'. Bill Johnson describes this 'quenching' as stopping the flow of the Spirit. Bill goes on to write, 'As the Holy Spirit is ready to bring salvation, healing, and deliverance, we are to flow with Him. Failure to do so hinders His efforts to bring us into the supernatural'. Imagine that, I have the potential to hinder God's efforts! I can quench Him. You can quench Him. That is almost too much to bear. This just goes to show how important the Holy Spirit is to us and how crucial it is for you and I to give Him room to be God in us and through us. If I want to be involved in seeing the impossibilities bow to the name of Jesus then I had better make sure the Holy Spirit is free to flow in my life. It is HIS realm of the supernatural that brings Heaven's reality crashing into ours. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=33625 33625 Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:56:00 +0000 Yesterday I was driving to a meeting and having a wonderful conversation with Jesus. I was speaking to Jesus about various things that I have been contending for in prayer where His healing touch and miraculous breakthrough is needed. But in the midst of our conversation I fell into the familiar place of forgetting who I am IN Christ. You see, my requests and pleas were not reflecting His desire to see me live in the power of the Holy Spirit and in His delegated authority. I was almost 'begging' God to do what I was asking! So in my conversation with Jesus in the car, I suddenly heard Jesus interupt me with these words, 'THE MASTER IS MOST HONOURED WHEN THE DISCIPLE IMITATES HIM AND LIVES AS HE LIVES.' These words rocked my world as Jesus was awakening within me a deeper understanding of who He saved me to be, and who everyone is that lives to follow Him.I was then reminded of a time of prayer awhile ago with others in our church. We were praying for the healing of someone's grandmother who was enduring sickness. The person praying said, 'Jesus, just say the word and she will be healed'. In that moment I heard Jesus say to me, 'You say the word!' It then became clear that as we walk with Jesus as friends (John 15:15), we watch Him walk in power and then it's as if Jesus then turns to us and says, 'Ok, not it's your turn. Go for it. I'm with you and you have my permission and power, say the word just like I did.'All of a sudden the words Jesus spoke in John 20:21 became more alive. Look at what Jesus said, '...As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' How was Jesus sent? To function under an open heaven, Spirit-filled and led and with total authority to bring the reality of God's Kingdom here on earth to heal the sick, set the captives free, raise to life what is dead and to bring deliverance to those gripped by satan's lies and bondage. In a nutshell Jesus came, '...that He might destroy the works of the devil'. Now, I know that His work on the cross and His resurrected life is strictly His work, but what He achieved through that changes everything for us.What Jesus is saying is that He now brings us into the mix and says to us that just as we saw Him (our Master) live, we too are to live. Watch Him. Hear Him. Imitate and copy Him. Reflect Him. Reveal Him. Demonstrate Him. Walk in His steps.To the intellectual Christian this is absurd. To the religious Christian this is impossible. To the self-centred Christian this is unnecessary. To the immature Christian this is extreme and ridiculous. To the shallow Christian this is unknown. But to the Spirit-filled Christian this is exciting and something we MUST go after.I've shared this on many occasions before but it is worth bringing up again and again...Just as Jesus delegated His authority to His disciples and sent the Holy Spirit to baptise them in His power, we too are recipients of the same blessing. The standard has now been set. Anything less than living in what Jesus made possible is to bring Him great dishonour and grief. Yes, grief, because the life we get to live cost Him everything.I am working this out in my life on a daily basis because now that I know there is more within my reach I cannot stay as I am. I cannot live a life that dishonours my Lord and brings Him grief because of laziness, and apathy that refuses to go after what He has made possible. Shame on me if I know what Jesus has made available but out of unbelief and doubt I pull back.Please, hear what Jesus is saying. Ask Him to show you what He has made possible to those who will follow without excuse and who will not be satisified until they awake in His likeness (see Psalm 17:15b).Remember...'THE MASTER IS MOST HONOURED WHEN THE DISCIPLE IMITATES HIM AND LIVES AS HE LIVES.' Yesterday I was driving to a meeting and having a wonderful conversation with Jesus. I was speaking to Jesus about various things that I have been contending for in prayer where His healing touch and miraculous breakthrough is needed. But in the midst of our conversation I fell into the familiar place of forgetting who I am IN Christ. You see, my requests and pleas were not reflecting His desire to see me live in the power of the Holy Spirit and in His delegated authority. I was almost 'begging' God to do what I was asking! So in my conversation with Jesus in the car, I suddenly heard Jesus interupt me with these words, 'THE MASTER IS MOST HONOURED WHEN THE DISCIPLE IMITATES HIM AND LIVES AS HE LIVES.' These words rocked my world as Jesus was awakening within me a deeper understanding of who He saved me to be, and who everyone is that lives to follow Him.I was then reminded of a time of prayer awhile ago with others in our church. We were praying for the healing of someone's grandmother who was enduring sickness. The person praying said, 'Jesus, just say the word and she will be healed'. In that moment I heard Jesus say to me, 'You say the word!' It then became clear that as we walk with Jesus as friends (John 15:15), we watch Him walk in power and then it's as if Jesus then turns to us and says, 'Ok, not it's your turn. Go for it. I'm with you and you have my permission and power, say the word just like I did.'All of a sudden the words Jesus spoke in John 20:21 became more alive. Look at what Jesus said, '...As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' How was Jesus sent? To function under an open heaven, Spirit-filled and led and with total authority to bring the reality of God's Kingdom here on earth to heal the sick, set the captives free, raise to life what is dead and to bring deliverance to those gripped by satan's lies and bondage. In a nutshell Jesus came, '...that He might destroy the works of the devil'. Now, I know that His work on the cross and His resurrected life is strictly His work, but what He achieved through that changes everything for us.What Jesus is saying is that He now brings us into the mix and says to us that just as we saw Him (our Master) live, we too are to live. Watch Him. Hear Him. Imitate and copy Him. Reflect Him. Reveal Him. Demonstrate Him. Walk in His steps.To the intellectual Christian this is absurd. To the religious Christian this is impossible. To the self-centred Christian this is unnecessary. To the immature Christian this is extreme and ridiculous. To the shallow Christian this is unknown. But to the Spirit-filled Christian this is exciting and something we MUST go after.I've shared this on many occasions before but it is worth bringing up again and again...Just as Jesus delegated His authority to His disciples and sent the Holy Spirit to baptise them in His power, we too are recipients of the same blessing. The standard has now been set. Anything less than living in what Jesus made possible is to bring Him great dishonour and grief. Yes, grief, because the life we get to live cost Him everything.I am working this out in my life on a daily basis because now that I know there is more within my reach I cannot stay as I am. I cannot live a life that dishonours my Lord and brings Him grief because of laziness, and apathy that refuses to go after what He has made possible. Shame on me if I know what Jesus has made available but out of unbelief and doubt I pull back.Please, hear what Jesus is saying. Ask Him to show you what He has made possible to those who will follow without excuse and who will not be satisified until they awake in His likeness (see Psalm 17:15b).Remember...'THE MASTER IS MOST HONOURED WHEN THE DISCIPLE IMITATES HIM AND LIVES AS HE LIVES.' http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=33465 33465 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:23:00 +0000 I recently had an amazing experience with God the Father. Let me explain...A couple of Sundays ago it was my birthday (How old? How rude!). Getting ready for church early that morning I heard the voice of God break through with these endearing words, 'Happy Birthday son, what would you like?' So personal and so like our loving Father in Heaven. It suddenly occurred to me the magnitude of such a question and how my response could not be rushed. I said, 'Wow, thanks Father, but allow me to think on this throughout the day and tonight I will give You my answer.'After a wonderful day with my Church family and then an awesome afternoon with my wife and kids, the day came to an end and I sat on the edge of my bed with my heart just about to burst. There is so much I could have asked for but what I spoke out came from of an inner desperation that just seems to be growing. Here was my response to the Father's question...'O God, my Father, You have overwhelmed me with Your love today. What do I want? I only ask for MORE of You! So much more that my life is never the same again. I want an encounter with You that will change my life, my family, my ministry, my church and my future forever. I want nothing else but YOU! Consume me. Possess me. Saturate me in Your presence, love and glory. All I ask for is MORE OF YOU!'I felt an awesome peace overcome me and then I went to sleep in the Father's embrace. Knowing that I cannot force an encounter with God or manipulate Him into giving me what I want, I just rested in our relationship and now I wait. But three days later I spent some time with a Prophet whose prophetic gift has blessed me many times. We talked and prayed and enjoyed some good time together. This man of God has been spot on with prophetic insights into my life and church that I greatly value and honour this man.During a time of prayer he suddenly started to speak prophetically over me and it was as if it was the Father speaking directly to me. Look at what he said, 'You are my son and I love you. You will have more of Me and you will encounter me in a way that will change you. How deep do you want to go?'To say I was shocked would be an understatement! The exact words I shared privately with Father God three days earlier were spoken over me with such clarity that I was nothing short of wrecked!!! How deep do I want to go? Well, the night before I was gripped by a verse that at this moment became my answer. This is what Psalm 17:15b says, 'I shall be satisified when I awake in Your likeness'. So, 'How deep do I want to go? As deep as it takes to awaken in Your likeness!'This awesome experience with the Lord has only left me craving and hungering for more. The more I am fed, the more hungry I become. The more I drink, the thirstier I get. The more I am satisified with God, the more desperate I become. So as I wait and press in, I know God hears my heart's cry and I will encounter Him in ways that I had only ever dreamed about. What I love about all of this is that there is always more to experience with God. I've been a Christian for almost 20 years and yet I still feel like such a novice.So I enourage you dear reader to also think what your response to the question 'How deep do you want to go?' will be. I promise you that when God finds a desperate heart for more of Him He will come. Let me know about your encounter with the Father. I recently had an amazing experience with God the Father. Let me explain...A couple of Sundays ago it was my birthday (How old? How rude!). Getting ready for church early that morning I heard the voice of God break through with these endearing words, 'Happy Birthday son, what would you like?' So personal and so like our loving Father in Heaven. It suddenly occurred to me the magnitude of such a question and how my response could not be rushed. I said, 'Wow, thanks Father, but allow me to think on this throughout the day and tonight I will give You my answer.'After a wonderful day with my Church family and then an awesome afternoon with my wife and kids, the day came to an end and I sat on the edge of my bed with my heart just about to burst. There is so much I could have asked for but what I spoke out came from of an inner desperation that just seems to be growing. Here was my response to the Father's question...'O God, my Father, You have overwhelmed me with Your love today. What do I want? I only ask for MORE of You! So much more that my life is never the same again. I want an encounter with You that will change my life, my family, my ministry, my church and my future forever. I want nothing else but YOU! Consume me. Possess me. Saturate me in Your presence, love and glory. All I ask for is MORE OF YOU!'I felt an awesome peace overcome me and then I went to sleep in the Father's embrace. Knowing that I cannot force an encounter with God or manipulate Him into giving me what I want, I just rested in our relationship and now I wait. But three days later I spent some time with a Prophet whose prophetic gift has blessed me many times. We talked and prayed and enjoyed some good time together. This man of God has been spot on with prophetic insights into my life and church that I greatly value and honour this man.During a time of prayer he suddenly started to speak prophetically over me and it was as if it was the Father speaking directly to me. Look at what he said, 'You are my son and I love you. You will have more of Me and you will encounter me in a way that will change you. How deep do you want to go?'To say I was shocked would be an understatement! The exact words I shared privately with Father God three days earlier were spoken over me with such clarity that I was nothing short of wrecked!!! How deep do I want to go? Well, the night before I was gripped by a verse that at this moment became my answer. This is what Psalm 17:15b says, 'I shall be satisified when I awake in Your likeness'. So, 'How deep do I want to go? As deep as it takes to awaken in Your likeness!'This awesome experience with the Lord has only left me craving and hungering for more. The more I am fed, the more hungry I become. The more I drink, the thirstier I get. The more I am satisified with God, the more desperate I become. So as I wait and press in, I know God hears my heart's cry and I will encounter Him in ways that I had only ever dreamed about. What I love about all of this is that there is always more to experience with God. I've been a Christian for almost 20 years and yet I still feel like such a novice.So I enourage you dear reader to also think what your response to the question 'How deep do you want to go?' will be. I promise you that when God finds a desperate heart for more of Him He will come. Let me know about your encounter with the Father. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=33273 33273 Wed, 4 Apr 2012 23:25:00 +0000 What happens when someone takes Jesus' words literally and without fear or hesitation goes into the world and lives it out? What does it look like when a person imitates Christ to the point where Jesus' love is seen in their eyes, words and deeds and His supernatural power flows to those to whom it was intended? Take a look at the ministry of Todd White, a mighty man of God who is consumed with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. But notice where he lives it out...on the streets, outside of church walls! It really is a glorious sight to behold. Now, I am sure there are skeptics, even within the Church, but isn't it interesting to see someone take Jesus' words as a matter of fact and live in light of the truth these words promise? I love Todd's boldness, burning heart of love and desperate desire to see the gospel of Jesus manifest wherever he goes. I love Todd's heart to see the lost found, the sick healed, the tormented delivered and the captives set free. Does this remind you of someone else? Aren't we sent as Jesus was sent? Aren't we empowered to also minister as Jesus did and see the 'impossibilities' bow to the mighty name of Jesus? I am so thankful that we have examples of men and women of faith through whom we are called higher to a level where the supernatural is becoming natural and the deeds of the devil are brought under the finished work of Jesus. C'mon, does it get any clearer than that? What happens when someone takes Jesus' words literally and without fear or hesitation goes into the world and lives it out? What does it look like when a person imitates Christ to the point where Jesus' love is seen in their eyes, words and deeds and His supernatural power flows to those to whom it was intended? Take a look at the ministry of Todd White, a mighty man of God who is consumed with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. But notice where he lives it out...on the streets, outside of church walls! It really is a glorious sight to behold. Now, I am sure there are skeptics, even within the Church, but isn't it interesting to see someone take Jesus' words as a matter of fact and live in light of the truth these words promise? I love Todd's boldness, burning heart of love and desperate desire to see the gospel of Jesus manifest wherever he goes. I love Todd's heart to see the lost found, the sick healed, the tormented delivered and the captives set free. Does this remind you of someone else? Aren't we sent as Jesus was sent? Aren't we empowered to also minister as Jesus did and see the 'impossibilities' bow to the mighty name of Jesus? I am so thankful that we have examples of men and women of faith through whom we are called higher to a level where the supernatural is becoming natural and the deeds of the devil are brought under the finished work of Jesus. C'mon, does it get any clearer than that? http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=32954 32954 Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:13:00 +0000 I have been deeply impacted by my studies in the Leader Development Program led by the Global Legacy Team at Bethel Church. These awesome revival leaders are imparting very valuable truths to us and I am seeing an obvious influence in the way I lead, preach and teach. I am so, so thankful for these great men and women of God. I recently read a great blog post by Wendy Backlund, whose husband Steve co-leads Global Legacy, which really spoke to me. She has a beautiful nature and heart to see God's people live in the presence and power of God through everything we do. I checked with her and she has given me permission to re-post her blog below and share her passionate heart with us. SOAKING PRAYER - By Wendy Backlund I am passionate about encouraging people to add 'soaking prayer' to their pursuit of God. Soaking prayer adds a new dimension to our relationship with the Father. It is not about talking to Him, but about listening, and experiencing Him. Soaking prayer is based on a belief system that God is supernatural and wishes to relate to His children in supernatural ways. Soaking prayer is about receiving supernatural impartation, revelation and visions. This is not a time for correction from the Holy Spirit. It is a time of intimacy. Come by the blood of the Lamb, knowing that He can talk to you later about issues needing to be taken care of. He desires a time to love on us and strengthen us with His Presence. Human relationships need this also, where we get together just to have fun and fellowship. Problems or issues are shelved for later, at the appropriate time. The goal is to get over our addiction to words and allow God to speak to us, 'Spirit to spirit.' There should be no striving or begging for Him to come. By faith believe that as you sit in His presence, He is there. Receive - just like you do at the gas pump (filling up on an unseen substance that is valuable). Whether you 'see or hear' something is not necessarily important, but by faith believe that you 'soaked' up the substance of His Glory. Our bodies are like the anointed handkerchief in Acts 19 that healed people. We soak-up His substance and it permeates our physical body. I recommend worship as a gateway into His presence. As you worship, feel free to use your sanctified imagination to picture the throne room, heaven and the unseen realm. Allow yourself to 'go with' any vision or thought that is from the unseen realm of God's Kingdom. Hab. 2:1 'I will watch and 'see' what the Lord will 'say.'' Unconsciously we limit God from speaking to us because we are straining to hear words. Habakkuk understood that God wasn't limited to speaking with language. I believe that sitting quietly is key for building a relationship with God. In the stillness of our soul, His presence speaks. While we are waiting for Him to speak to our mind, He is waiting for an opportunity to speak to our heart. Often I have to verbally take my thoughts captive unto Christ and actively receive the substance of His presence and peace to flow through my soul and spirit. Experiencing peace, not having Him tell me is what peace is. It is in this place of rest that my spirit receives revelation rather than information. To grow into maturity, we must know God the Father more intimately. Our highest call is to not teach about God but to reveal Him. Unless we experience and soak up His presence our relationship becomes cerebral rather than actual. We know about it, but we can't live in it. Isn't that a great tool? I recommend you try to rest and be still in God's presence and experience the reviving connection you will have. God really is bigger than what we often rely on and can relate to you in ways that go so much deeper. This heart connection can take you further than your head can. So try and soak in the glorious love of God for you and be amazed by what you will discover. I have been deeply impacted by my studies in the Leader Development Program led by the Global Legacy Team at Bethel Church. These awesome revival leaders are imparting very valuable truths to us and I am seeing an obvious influence in the way I lead, preach and teach. I am so, so thankful for these great men and women of God. I recently read a great blog post by Wendy Backlund, whose husband Steve co-leads Global Legacy, which really spoke to me. She has a beautiful nature and heart to see God's people live in the presence and power of God through everything we do. I checked with her and she has given me permission to re-post her blog below and share her passionate heart with us. SOAKING PRAYER - By Wendy Backlund I am passionate about encouraging people to add 'soaking prayer' to their pursuit of God. Soaking prayer adds a new dimension to our relationship with the Father. It is not about talking to Him, but about listening, and experiencing Him. Soaking prayer is based on a belief system that God is supernatural and wishes to relate to His children in supernatural ways. Soaking prayer is about receiving supernatural impartation, revelation and visions. This is not a time for correction from the Holy Spirit. It is a time of intimacy. Come by the blood of the Lamb, knowing that He can talk to you later about issues needing to be taken care of. He desires a time to love on us and strengthen us with His Presence. Human relationships need this also, where we get together just to have fun and fellowship. Problems or issues are shelved for later, at the appropriate time. The goal is to get over our addiction to words and allow God to speak to us, 'Spirit to spirit.' There should be no striving or begging for Him to come. By faith believe that as you sit in His presence, He is there. Receive - just like you do at the gas pump (filling up on an unseen substance that is valuable). Whether you 'see or hear' something is not necessarily important, but by faith believe that you 'soaked' up the substance of His Glory. Our bodies are like the anointed handkerchief in Acts 19 that healed people. We soak-up His substance and it permeates our physical body. I recommend worship as a gateway into His presence. As you worship, feel free to use your sanctified imagination to picture the throne room, heaven and the unseen realm. Allow yourself to 'go with' any vision or thought that is from the unseen realm of God's Kingdom. Hab. 2:1 'I will watch and 'see' what the Lord will 'say.'' Unconsciously we limit God from speaking to us because we are straining to hear words. Habakkuk understood that God wasn't limited to speaking with language. I believe that sitting quietly is key for building a relationship with God. In the stillness of our soul, His presence speaks. While we are waiting for Him to speak to our mind, He is waiting for an opportunity to speak to our heart. Often I have to verbally take my thoughts captive unto Christ and actively receive the substance of His presence and peace to flow through my soul and spirit. Experiencing peace, not having Him tell me is what peace is. It is in this place of rest that my spirit receives revelation rather than information. To grow into maturity, we must know God the Father more intimately. Our highest call is to not teach about God but to reveal Him. Unless we experience and soak up His presence our relationship becomes cerebral rather than actual. We know about it, but we can't live in it. Isn't that a great tool? I recommend you try to rest and be still in God's presence and experience the reviving connection you will have. God really is bigger than what we often rely on and can relate to you in ways that go so much deeper. This heart connection can take you further than your head can. So try and soak in the glorious love of God for you and be amazed by what you will discover. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=32829 32829 Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:28:00 +0000 The reality of Jesus' Church functioning as a family has really gripped me lately. It seems this truth has suddenly captured my heart and taken on a whole new dimension and meaning. It is a wonderful insight to have because it prevents me from seeing the Church as a club, an event, an organization or a social gathering. It is FAMILY uniting together around the presence of Father God. It is the Father's adopted sons and daughters living out of a personal, vibrant and joyful relationship that is free from the damage of religious mindsets and practices. But another aspect of this has also deeply affected me. Yes, I am a son who has been accepted and welcomed into the Royal Family of Heaven, but I also have the capacity and responsibility to function as a spiritual father to those I pastor and lead. Of course I am not advocating the position that some religious instituations take by elevating the spiritual fathers as some super-holy personality who cannot be approached without the right protocol. But there is a beautiful balance found in the environment of a loving and united spiritual family when spiritual fathers accept their role and willingly serve. This humbles me and causes me to approach my ministry from a fresh perspective and makes me aware that what I say and do does not only affect me but also those under my spiritual care. This keeps me on my toes because it means that my example and my lifestyle as a spiritual father directly impacts and influences those I am leading into maturity as spiritual sons and daughters who will one day also become spiritual parents. The Apostle Paul addressed this issue when writing to the Corinthian Church. In 1 Corinthians 4:15 he observes, 'For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.' Paul then realizes the implications of this that as a spiritual father he must live a life that is worthy of imitating so that his spiritual children can grow up in Christ's likeness. He writes in verse 16, 'Therefore I urge you, imitate me.' To imitate a father-figure tends to be a natural part of our upbringing and this is also true in the spiritual context. How true is Paul's observation that there are many instructors yet few fathers! Many want to teach, preach and tell people what to do, but few are willing to stick it out, stay faithful, give of themselves and impart life to those who come to them to learn and grow. Instructors come and go, giving great insights and inspiring us to reach higher, but fathers teach and nurture by their words and life. It is good to have instructors, but the Church today is desperately in need of spiritual fathers and mothers who have experienced life, encountered God and live from the Holy Spirit. The reason I write about this is because I want to see this applied in my own life and ministry and in those who are blessed to be in a position to lead others. We have a huge responsibility that goes deeper than giving solid teaching, inspiring preaching and some good principles. We need to love, pray, nurture, inspire, encourage, build-up, protect and teach like a father through our example. It is then that we will see our spiritual sons and daughters grow up and resemble the One we follow...Jesus. The reality of Jesus' Church functioning as a family has really gripped me lately. It seems this truth has suddenly captured my heart and taken on a whole new dimension and meaning. It is a wonderful insight to have because it prevents me from seeing the Church as a club, an event, an organization or a social gathering. It is FAMILY uniting together around the presence of Father God. It is the Father's adopted sons and daughters living out of a personal, vibrant and joyful relationship that is free from the damage of religious mindsets and practices. But another aspect of this has also deeply affected me. Yes, I am a son who has been accepted and welcomed into the Royal Family of Heaven, but I also have the capacity and responsibility to function as a spiritual father to those I pastor and lead. Of course I am not advocating the position that some religious instituations take by elevating the spiritual fathers as some super-holy personality who cannot be approached without the right protocol. But there is a beautiful balance found in the environment of a loving and united spiritual family when spiritual fathers accept their role and willingly serve. This humbles me and causes me to approach my ministry from a fresh perspective and makes me aware that what I say and do does not only affect me but also those under my spiritual care. This keeps me on my toes because it means that my example and my lifestyle as a spiritual father directly impacts and influences those I am leading into maturity as spiritual sons and daughters who will one day also become spiritual parents. The Apostle Paul addressed this issue when writing to the Corinthian Church. In 1 Corinthians 4:15 he observes, 'For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.' Paul then realizes the implications of this that as a spiritual father he must live a life that is worthy of imitating so that his spiritual children can grow up in Christ's likeness. He writes in verse 16, 'Therefore I urge you, imitate me.' To imitate a father-figure tends to be a natural part of our upbringing and this is also true in the spiritual context. How true is Paul's observation that there are many instructors yet few fathers! Many want to teach, preach and tell people what to do, but few are willing to stick it out, stay faithful, give of themselves and impart life to those who come to them to learn and grow. Instructors come and go, giving great insights and inspiring us to reach higher, but fathers teach and nurture by their words and life. It is good to have instructors, but the Church today is desperately in need of spiritual fathers and mothers who have experienced life, encountered God and live from the Holy Spirit. The reason I write about this is because I want to see this applied in my own life and ministry and in those who are blessed to be in a position to lead others. We have a huge responsibility that goes deeper than giving solid teaching, inspiring preaching and some good principles. We need to love, pray, nurture, inspire, encourage, build-up, protect and teach like a father through our example. It is then that we will see our spiritual sons and daughters grow up and resemble the One we follow...Jesus. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=32417 32417 Wed, 7 Mar 2012 22:53:00 +0000 For a long time I have been observing the practices, beliefs and focus of the praying Christians who spend a lot of their time and energies on what is known as 'Spiritual Warfare' praying. It is usually quite intense as it includes various prescribed prayers that are taught which when used against the devil push back the tide of his onslaught. Now, while I do not disregard warfare prayer and by no means am I against it in some form, but what I have been troubled by for a long while is how some treat it as some mystical set of formulated prayers and only those with special revelation or teaching can use them effectively. To be honest, this concerns me because it is never meant to be that difficult. It has been complicated to the point that unless you know these special prayers you are bound to be suffering under satan's relentless attacks. I guess the real reason I struggle with this so much is because I have a deep conviction that JESUS IS ENOUGH! If I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me and I am saturated by the presence of God and Christ has given me clear and direct access into the 'Throne zone', then why should I need to complicate it any further? Should so much focus be put on satan and focus on his schemes to destroy us? Or, is the fact that God is for us, with us, in us, on us and around us enough? My dear friend Rob Cartledge, author of God's Heart Cry For Revival and two other great books, has a section in that book that addresses this issue wonderfully. I actually refer people to this section quite often to show them how simple this issue of Spiritual Warfare actually is. Here is the section Rob wrote, sub-titled 'About Spiritual Warfare'... ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE (Rob Cartledge) We should focus our prayers predominantly in the 3rd Heaven, before the throne of God. This is the greatest act of spiritual warfare in that the presence of God drives out demons. There is a time for spiritual warfare, but too much emphasis, focus and concern in this area causes personal battles to take place which otherwise would not have occurred if we simply manifested the presence of God. The presence of God is like an atomic explosion to demons. Paul E Billheimer said in his book Destined for the Throne, 'In Psalm 22:3 we are told that God 'inhabits the praises of His people.' This means that wherever there is adoration, reverence and acceptable worship and praise, there He identifies and openly manifests His presence. And His presence always expels satan. Satan cannot operate in the divine ambience.' This is why the Church needs a revival, to clean out the house of God of all demonic influences. When we focus upon demons and evil forces, we invite them to one-on-one confrontation. Christians who are obsessed with the art of spiritual warfare can go mildly insane. It begins to dominate their prayer life, and their prayers dwell in the 1st and 2nd Heavens. These people are usually under satanic persecution. They see Christianity as a complex system of satanic warfare. There is a time and a place for spiritual warfare. However, we can bypass this focus (yet still not be ignorant of the powers of darkness) by going straight to the throne room of God, and draw on His Spirit through praise and worship. Evil cannot exist around true praise. Smith Wigglesworth was said to have had satan in his room while he slept one night. When he woke up and saw him, he did not come against him with spiritual this and that, but he merely said, 'Oh, it's only you' and rolled over and went back to sleep. Smith was so in tune with God, he knew that; 'Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.' The presence of God in Smith's life drove demons out of his presence in the multitudes. Again I will state that I believe there is a time and a place for spiritual warfare. For example, casting out demons of possessed people (spiritual deliverance over people when laying on of hands) or in intercession for people or even taking authority over demonic holds over Churches, communities, cities and countries but to have it as a primary focus of every prayer session is destructive to our Christianity and character. When I am involved in too much focus and talk of spiritual warfare, my thoughts and spirit slowly leave the presence of God and I seem to enter into demonic realms (1st and 2nd Heavens), trying to bind up and cast out demons in the flesh with aggression. I slowly begin to suffer from demonic persecution. I get spooked and an eeriness starts to surround me and fears slowly set in. I've experienced this on many occasions when I spend time with people who believe they have a deep call on their lives to be active in spiritual warfare. Normally I spend so much time in prayer, focussed on the presence of God, and covering my home and family in the blood of Jesus, that I suffer little at the hands of demons. The presence of God drives out demons; they cannot exist in an atmosphere of praise and worship. When I am in the presence of God, there is no fear and no demons. You attract that which you focus upon. Focus on God and attract God. If you focus on spiritual warfare, you'll attract it, and remember satan loves to have a fight. The outcome of focussing upon God will be a blessing; the outcome of continually focussing upon spiritual warfare will be depression. Rick Joyner said in his book The Harvest 2, 'The more we focus on what is wrong, or the practices of the evil one, the more we, ourselves, will be changed into the nature of what we are seeing.' Too much binding of this and casting out that has so little effect, when we can just exist permanently in the presence of God, and see them all flee from His mighty presence. The presence of God drives out all demons. Many great men and women of God have been aware of the demonic realm, but they have not let it infect their lives by dwelling there in thought and in prayer. You manifest what you dwell in. Francis Frangipane wrote in his classic book on spiritual warfare, The Three Battlegrounds, 'We must learn that, on a personal level, it is better to develop godly virtues than to spend our day praying against the devil. Indeed, it is the joy of the Lord that casts out spirits of depression. It is our living faith that destroys spirits of unbelief. It is aggressive love that casts out fear. As we continually yield ourselves to Christ, surrendering ourselves by faith to His nature and His Words, we literally build the impenetrable stronghold of His presence around us. The way into the fortress of the Almighty is simple. Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips. It is consummated by the nature of Jesus in our heart.' As you can see, the very presence of God, which all genuine Christians walk in, is the greatest form of spiritual warfare we can do. As Rob so wonderfully wrote,'The presence of God is like an atomic explosion to demons.' So, so true! So I encourage you to soak yourself in God's presence everyday and all day. It is there that we find our peace, our strength, our joy, our protection, our identity, our belonging, our hope, and our home. God loves you too much to allow satan to defeat you. The truth found in Isaiah 54:17 remains, 'No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.' Our confidence is in the LORD alone!!! For a long time I have been observing the practices, beliefs and focus of the praying Christians who spend a lot of their time and energies on what is known as 'Spiritual Warfare' praying. It is usually quite intense as it includes various prescribed prayers that are taught which when used against the devil push back the tide of his onslaught. Now, while I do not disregard warfare prayer and by no means am I against it in some form, but what I have been troubled by for a long while is how some treat it as some mystical set of formulated prayers and only those with special revelation or teaching can use them effectively. To be honest, this concerns me because it is never meant to be that difficult. It has been complicated to the point that unless you know these special prayers you are bound to be suffering under satan's relentless attacks. I guess the real reason I struggle with this so much is because I have a deep conviction that JESUS IS ENOUGH! If I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me and I am saturated by the presence of God and Christ has given me clear and direct access into the 'Throne zone', then why should I need to complicate it any further? Should so much focus be put on satan and focus on his schemes to destroy us? Or, is the fact that God is for us, with us, in us, on us and around us enough? My dear friend Rob Cartledge, author of God's Heart Cry For Revival and two other great books, has a section in that book that addresses this issue wonderfully. I actually refer people to this section quite often to show them how simple this issue of Spiritual Warfare actually is. Here is the section Rob wrote, sub-titled 'About Spiritual Warfare'... ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE (Rob Cartledge) We should focus our prayers predominantly in the 3rd Heaven, before the throne of God. This is the greatest act of spiritual warfare in that the presence of God drives out demons. There is a time for spiritual warfare, but too much emphasis, focus and concern in this area causes personal battles to take place which otherwise would not have occurred if we simply manifested the presence of God. The presence of God is like an atomic explosion to demons. Paul E Billheimer said in his book Destined for the Throne, 'In Psalm 22:3 we are told that God 'inhabits the praises of His people.' This means that wherever there is adoration, reverence and acceptable worship and praise, there He identifies and openly manifests His presence. And His presence always expels satan. Satan cannot operate in the divine ambience.' This is why the Church needs a revival, to clean out the house of God of all demonic influences. When we focus upon demons and evil forces, we invite them to one-on-one confrontation. Christians who are obsessed with the art of spiritual warfare can go mildly insane. It begins to dominate their prayer life, and their prayers dwell in the 1st and 2nd Heavens. These people are usually under satanic persecution. They see Christianity as a complex system of satanic warfare. There is a time and a place for spiritual warfare. However, we can bypass this focus (yet still not be ignorant of the powers of darkness) by going straight to the throne room of God, and draw on His Spirit through praise and worship. Evil cannot exist around true praise. Smith Wigglesworth was said to have had satan in his room while he slept one night. When he woke up and saw him, he did not come against him with spiritual this and that, but he merely said, 'Oh, it's only you' and rolled over and went back to sleep. Smith was so in tune with God, he knew that; 'Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.' The presence of God in Smith's life drove demons out of his presence in the multitudes. Again I will state that I believe there is a time and a place for spiritual warfare. For example, casting out demons of possessed people (spiritual deliverance over people when laying on of hands) or in intercession for people or even taking authority over demonic holds over Churches, communities, cities and countries but to have it as a primary focus of every prayer session is destructive to our Christianity and character. When I am involved in too much focus and talk of spiritual warfare, my thoughts and spirit slowly leave the presence of God and I seem to enter into demonic realms (1st and 2nd Heavens), trying to bind up and cast out demons in the flesh with aggression. I slowly begin to suffer from demonic persecution. I get spooked and an eeriness starts to surround me and fears slowly set in. I've experienced this on many occasions when I spend time with people who believe they have a deep call on their lives to be active in spiritual warfare. Normally I spend so much time in prayer, focussed on the presence of God, and covering my home and family in the blood of Jesus, that I suffer little at the hands of demons. The presence of God drives out demons; they cannot exist in an atmosphere of praise and worship. When I am in the presence of God, there is no fear and no demons. You attract that which you focus upon. Focus on God and attract God. If you focus on spiritual warfare, you'll attract it, and remember satan loves to have a fight. The outcome of focussing upon God will be a blessing; the outcome of continually focussing upon spiritual warfare will be depression. Rick Joyner said in his book The Harvest 2, 'The more we focus on what is wrong, or the practices of the evil one, the more we, ourselves, will be changed into the nature of what we are seeing.' Too much binding of this and casting out that has so little effect, when we can just exist permanently in the presence of God, and see them all flee from His mighty presence. The presence of God drives out all demons. Many great men and women of God have been aware of the demonic realm, but they have not let it infect their lives by dwelling there in thought and in prayer. You manifest what you dwell in. Francis Frangipane wrote in his classic book on spiritual warfare, The Three Battlegrounds, 'We must learn that, on a personal level, it is better to develop godly virtues than to spend our day praying against the devil. Indeed, it is the joy of the Lord that casts out spirits of depression. It is our living faith that destroys spirits of unbelief. It is aggressive love that casts out fear. As we continually yield ourselves to Christ, surrendering ourselves by faith to His nature and His Words, we literally build the impenetrable stronghold of His presence around us. The way into the fortress of the Almighty is simple. Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips. It is consummated by the nature of Jesus in our heart.' As you can see, the very presence of God, which all genuine Christians walk in, is the greatest form of spiritual warfare we can do. As Rob so wonderfully wrote,'The presence of God is like an atomic explosion to demons.' So, so true! So I encourage you to soak yourself in God's presence everyday and all day. It is there that we find our peace, our strength, our joy, our protection, our identity, our belonging, our hope, and our home. God loves you too much to allow satan to defeat you. The truth found in Isaiah 54:17 remains, 'No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.' Our confidence is in the LORD alone!!! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=32218 32218 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:32:00 +0000 For a long while I have been learning so, so much from Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding California. What has been most helpful and fruitful has been his insights into the presence and power of God. To hear and read testimonies where God invaded a person or a situation always captures my faith to believe for more and carry God's presence with greater awareness into my world. Here is a snippet from one of Bill's articles and then I'll follow up with some comments: Our greatest privilege in life is to learn to be a person that God will rest upon. He is in all of us by covenant, and will never leave. But He is not upon all of us. The challenge we face is to learn to be people who host the presence of the Lord as our greatest calling in life. While He is in me for my sake, He is upon me for yours. When the Lord rests upon a person, there is actually an atmospheric change that takes place wherever that person goes. As our own faith increases—in conjunction with our realm of authority and responsibility—we are allowed to carry a greater weight of presence into an environment. The 'reach' of His presence is transformational in nature, changing the climate that people live under. What I love about such principles is that it draws us deeper into a realm of living that has been missing from much of today's Christianity. We try to come up with creative programs, transforming initiatives, and exciting ministry ideas that will reach the lost souls, but while those things are good and to some extent a necessary part of how we function, I do often question if it needs to get so complicated? I live with a deep conviction that we owe our world a supernatural Church and an encounter with God. A Church that shows and tells about how great our God is. A Church where God's power is displayed with miracles, signs and wonders as it proves that our words have merit. The more you read the gospels from that perspective you begin to see how God backed up what they preached with power for the miraculous. One such verse is found in the very last verse of Mark's gospel. Look at this, '...they [the Disciples] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.' Mark 16:20 (ESV) God CONFIRMED their messgae with proof of His power, His supernatural nature and His Kingdom. He followed through with their preached word with an invasion of His reality through them and when His reality collides with ours, His always comes out on top! So this is the reality of what we carry as God's people. To be supernatural in our actions, words, prayers etc. is to operate in what Jesus died to make possible. We are saved and called for such a life. Go with a 'show and tell' gospel and co-labour with God to see His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What a life! For a long while I have been learning so, so much from Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding California. What has been most helpful and fruitful has been his insights into the presence and power of God. To hear and read testimonies where God invaded a person or a situation always captures my faith to believe for more and carry God's presence with greater awareness into my world. Here is a snippet from one of Bill's articles and then I'll follow up with some comments: Our greatest privilege in life is to learn to be a person that God will rest upon. He is in all of us by covenant, and will never leave. But He is not upon all of us. The challenge we face is to learn to be people who host the presence of the Lord as our greatest calling in life. While He is in me for my sake, He is upon me for yours. When the Lord rests upon a person, there is actually an atmospheric change that takes place wherever that person goes. As our own faith increases—in conjunction with our realm of authority and responsibility—we are allowed to carry a greater weight of presence into an environment. The 'reach' of His presence is transformational in nature, changing the climate that people live under. What I love about such principles is that it draws us deeper into a realm of living that has been missing from much of today's Christianity. We try to come up with creative programs, transforming initiatives, and exciting ministry ideas that will reach the lost souls, but while those things are good and to some extent a necessary part of how we function, I do often question if it needs to get so complicated? I live with a deep conviction that we owe our world a supernatural Church and an encounter with God. A Church that shows and tells about how great our God is. A Church where God's power is displayed with miracles, signs and wonders as it proves that our words have merit. The more you read the gospels from that perspective you begin to see how God backed up what they preached with power for the miraculous. One such verse is found in the very last verse of Mark's gospel. Look at this, '...they [the Disciples] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.' Mark 16:20 (ESV) God CONFIRMED their messgae with proof of His power, His supernatural nature and His Kingdom. He followed through with their preached word with an invasion of His reality through them and when His reality collides with ours, His always comes out on top! So this is the reality of what we carry as God's people. To be supernatural in our actions, words, prayers etc. is to operate in what Jesus died to make possible. We are saved and called for such a life. Go with a 'show and tell' gospel and co-labour with God to see His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What a life! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=31957 31957 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:41:00 +0000 Failure and disappointment is just part of the process of getting to where we need to go. We will all be confronted with the ways and thoughts of God not making sense to our limited understanding and that's why we need to learn how to value God's mystery. We do not adjust our beliefs based on our circumstances because that would lead to false doctrines and incorrect theology, but rather we adjust our reaction to circumstances based on the absolutes of God. Situations change, but God never does. For instance, this week our church was confronted with major disappointment in regards to a new building we were applying for. Weeks of preparation to apply for our permits and growing excitement about what lied ahead was suddenly halted when we were informed that another party had just signed a lease for the same building by another real-estate agent behind our backs. In shock I was confronted with a choice...Do I blame God and express my disappointment in not coming through for us OR do I declare His goodness, His majesty and holiness and just see this as a step up higher towards something bigger and better? While I still have questions and it hurts to have lost such a seemingly great opportunity, the absolute nature of God's goodness still remains the same and His love and care for us shines through. We might never know why this failed, but I know God never will fail us, forsake us or forget us. His ways are higher (Isa. 55:8) and I am ok with not knowing the details. It really is an internal battle that rages when confronted with God's mysterious ways. But it is in that place of the unknown that our faith gets a really good work out. It is when we cannot see, cannot understand and cannot know that we are tested to see whether or not our faith can stand. That's why the 'absolutes' of who God is carry us through these trying times. I encourage you to list and memorized the 'absolutes' of God because I can guarantee you, you will refer to them often. To help you along, here are some that I hold close and declare out loud: - God is good all of the time. - God cannot love me more or love me less. - God treats me as a son, not a slave. - God is sovereign and always in control. - God knows, God cares and God hears my prayers. - God cannot lie. - God's promises are secure. If He said it, He will fulfil it. - God's mystery is beautiful. - God hates sin, sickness, disease and all works of the devil. AND Jesus died to destory them all. - God's Kingdom is within me. I am authorised and powerful in Christ. - God is for me, not against me. These are some that I am sure will help you too. Can you come up with any more absolutes about God? Failure and disappointment is just part of the process of getting to where we need to go. We will all be confronted with the ways and thoughts of God not making sense to our limited understanding and that's why we need to learn how to value God's mystery. We do not adjust our beliefs based on our circumstances because that would lead to false doctrines and incorrect theology, but rather we adjust our reaction to circumstances based on the absolutes of God. Situations change, but God never does. For instance, this week our church was confronted with major disappointment in regards to a new building we were applying for. Weeks of preparation to apply for our permits and growing excitement about what lied ahead was suddenly halted when we were informed that another party had just signed a lease for the same building by another real-estate agent behind our backs. In shock I was confronted with a choice...Do I blame God and express my disappointment in not coming through for us OR do I declare His goodness, His majesty and holiness and just see this as a step up higher towards something bigger and better? While I still have questions and it hurts to have lost such a seemingly great opportunity, the absolute nature of God's goodness still remains the same and His love and care for us shines through. We might never know why this failed, but I know God never will fail us, forsake us or forget us. His ways are higher (Isa. 55:8) and I am ok with not knowing the details. It really is an internal battle that rages when confronted with God's mysterious ways. But it is in that place of the unknown that our faith gets a really good work out. It is when we cannot see, cannot understand and cannot know that we are tested to see whether or not our faith can stand. That's why the 'absolutes' of who God is carry us through these trying times. I encourage you to list and memorized the 'absolutes' of God because I can guarantee you, you will refer to them often. To help you along, here are some that I hold close and declare out loud: - God is good all of the time. - God cannot love me more or love me less. - God treats me as a son, not a slave. - God is sovereign and always in control. - God knows, God cares and God hears my prayers. - God cannot lie. - God's promises are secure. If He said it, He will fulfil it. - God's mystery is beautiful. - God hates sin, sickness, disease and all works of the devil. AND Jesus died to destory them all. - God's Kingdom is within me. I am authorised and powerful in Christ. - God is for me, not against me. These are some that I am sure will help you too. Can you come up with any more absolutes about God? http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=31580 31580 Thu, 9 Feb 2012 19:22:00 +0000 At CityWest Church we hold our weekly Sunday meeting at 11am. It usually goes for two hours and even then seems too limited. But over time I have had some interesting comments about the duration of our service and that we need to trim it down to cater for the fast-paced culture we live in. While the pace of our lives is getting faster and faster, I have a deep conviction that to truly experience God's presence one cannot be rushed. We cannot expect God to fit within His alotted time slot and then be gone when we're done. I really struggle with how much we unknowingly seek to manipulate and control God. So how do we change this frantic pace and experience God in richer and more meaningful ways? Not too long ago I was captivated by the practice of what is known as 'soaking worship'. It is learning to rest and be still and simply soak in His reviving presence. I usually include soft, ambient worship music which takes me into that place of intimate rest and helps me connect with God in a real way. I won't come with an agenda or a list of wants, but just a loving desire for God above all else. For this I would highly recommend the Christian artist Julie True, especially her CD 'Breathe You In'. What we have implemented at church as a result of this experience is 30-40 minutes of soaking worship before our 11am service. This is where we gather to quiet ourselves before the Lord and focus our hearts and attention on Him before we begin our service. It is amazing the difference this makes to those who participate as it gives us a way to lay aside the busy chaos of our week and come before God with a desire to be with Him, at His feet and eager for His touch. I have also found this to confront our tendency to come into God's presence with a loud and proud position as we hop around like electrified jelly-beans. I'm not against the exciting music that gets us dancing and happy, but when it becomes a cliche formula and one that becomes a stale method of revving up the people, we lose the meaning and purpose behind it. We can spend an entire church service singing about God yet never singing to Him. We can miss His presence and walk away hot and sweaty thinking we've had an encounter when in reality all we've had was a work-out! There is a reason God said in Psalm 46 that we need to 'Be still and know that I am God...' Being still enables us to know Him which then reveals to us who we are and then imparts to us why we are here. Everything we do comes from that place of BEING. Like Mary who chose to sit at Jesus' feet while her sister Martha was frantically working in the kitchen, we too are to choose the restful worship of being with Jesus instead of always rushing to do something for Jesus. If we could learn the beauty of soaking in His presence and finding our place at God's feet in humble worship, we would see that our efforts and works would closer resemble those of Christ. Forget the striving. Find yourself in Christ and love Him without any attachments or agendas. He is worthy that we slow down and soak. Here are a couple of songs from Julie True so that you can soak in God's presence... At CityWest Church we hold our weekly Sunday meeting at 11am. It usually goes for two hours and even then seems too limited. But over time I have had some interesting comments about the duration of our service and that we need to trim it down to cater for the fast-paced culture we live in. While the pace of our lives is getting faster and faster, I have a deep conviction that to truly experience God's presence one cannot be rushed. We cannot expect God to fit within His alotted time slot and then be gone when we're done. I really struggle with how much we unknowingly seek to manipulate and control God. So how do we change this frantic pace and experience God in richer and more meaningful ways? Not too long ago I was captivated by the practice of what is known as 'soaking worship'. It is learning to rest and be still and simply soak in His reviving presence. I usually include soft, ambient worship music which takes me into that place of intimate rest and helps me connect with God in a real way. I won't come with an agenda or a list of wants, but just a loving desire for God above all else. For this I would highly recommend the Christian artist Julie True, especially her CD 'Breathe You In'. What we have implemented at church as a result of this experience is 30-40 minutes of soaking worship before our 11am service. This is where we gather to quiet ourselves before the Lord and focus our hearts and attention on Him before we begin our service. It is amazing the difference this makes to those who participate as it gives us a way to lay aside the busy chaos of our week and come before God with a desire to be with Him, at His feet and eager for His touch. I have also found this to confront our tendency to come into God's presence with a loud and proud position as we hop around like electrified jelly-beans. I'm not against the exciting music that gets us dancing and happy, but when it becomes a cliche formula and one that becomes a stale method of revving up the people, we lose the meaning and purpose behind it. We can spend an entire church service singing about God yet never singing to Him. We can miss His presence and walk away hot and sweaty thinking we've had an encounter when in reality all we've had was a work-out! There is a reason God said in Psalm 46 that we need to 'Be still and know that I am God...' Being still enables us to know Him which then reveals to us who we are and then imparts to us why we are here. Everything we do comes from that place of BEING. Like Mary who chose to sit at Jesus' feet while her sister Martha was frantically working in the kitchen, we too are to choose the restful worship of being with Jesus instead of always rushing to do something for Jesus. If we could learn the beauty of soaking in His presence and finding our place at God's feet in humble worship, we would see that our efforts and works would closer resemble those of Christ. Forget the striving. Find yourself in Christ and love Him without any attachments or agendas. He is worthy that we slow down and soak. Here are a couple of songs from Julie True so that you can soak in God's presence... http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=31376 31376 Thu, 2 Feb 2012 21:22:00 +0000 Ah... THE CALL of a REVIVALIST -by Tina Dyer. I will attempt to help you understand the call as a revivalist. When we look at others who have gone before us, it can help us with where we find ourselves currently. Though we see through a glass darkly, it still helps to catch just a glimpse of what we are going through. We could be called 'forerunners' or revivalists or 'reformers'…. It can be seen as one who runs in front of the crowd. One who will search out the best path for others who will soon follow. One who will be the first to encounter un-ploughed territory or land. Your vision or perspective will be vastly different from others as your eyesight will see from a completely different vantage point. You are much like the 'Pioneers' of old who headed west in search of new land to settle in. They had to trail blaze through uninhabited land to make a way for others to cross with ease. They were 'way makers' and 'visionaries'. What kept them pressing forward was a dream, a dream that held great promise of a better land in which to settle and grow strong roots. This fire placed within you was placed there by the Lord of Glory Himself. Knowing this is from Him will help us to continue in the journey though many obstacles will be encountered. We press for the mark of the high calling of Christ. The cost is great. It could cost you everything and then some. You will be frequently misunderstood, rejected, slandered, ridiculed, mocked, condemned, betrayed and left by your closest loved ones. The greatest pain will come from those that you love the most. It will come from friends who you thought to be faithful. This walk is indeed very lonely. But yet He is asking, 'Will you follow Me as I lead?' I can only pray that your answer will be, 'Yes, Lord, let it be unto me, according to Your will'. Brokenness will be a requirement. He will insist upon it. To be a vessel fit for His glory to reside and for Him to trust you, brokenness must come. There will come a time when one will begin to accept the refiner's fire and actually ask for more of it. Those who have been given the revelation of just how precious that refinement is, knowing that it is bringing us forth as gold. I liken this brokenness to the story of Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus as the Pharisees rebuked her. She took the bottle of alabaster and BROKE the bottle and the seal so that she could anoint her beloved Jesus with her most precious gift. She wiped His feet with her tears as she poured out her love to Him. Beloved, YOU are that bottle that needs to be broken. When broken, the fragrance of that brokenness will be so glorious before the Lord that it will rise to His nostrils and be most pleasing in His sight. The breaking brings forth humility and a contrite spirit which is of great worth in the sight of the King. Continual resistance from outside forces will only cause you to push in that much closer to the Lord. To remain stagnant would be like death to a revivalist. For it is built within them an internal push that cannot remain still. Mundane routines are very hard for them to endure. For a fire is blazing within them, the fire of a revivalist. Like the pioneers of old, they will encounter great difficulty. Some included impassable mountains, dense brush, severe weather, sickness and disease, wild animals, hunger and thirst as well as enemies. You can be certain there was much fighting in the ranks. It would take a strong leader to endure through it all. The pioneers' battles were mostly in the natural but what drove them to succeed was a dream. Our battle will occur in the mind, the natural and in the spiritual realm. But always keep in mind that the King of Kings goes before you and will light your path. If He is for us, who can be against us? He never said this walk would be easy. He only said, pick up your cross and follow Me. He is still saying that today. May our spirit be quick to say, 'Yes Lord, I will follow You wherever You lead'. SOURCE: www.revivalschool.com Ah... THE CALL of a REVIVALIST -by Tina Dyer. I will attempt to help you understand the call as a revivalist. When we look at others who have gone before us, it can help us with where we find ourselves currently. Though we see through a glass darkly, it still helps to catch just a glimpse of what we are going through. We could be called 'forerunners' or revivalists or 'reformers'…. It can be seen as one who runs in front of the crowd. One who will search out the best path for others who will soon follow. One who will be the first to encounter un-ploughed territory or land. Your vision or perspective will be vastly different from others as your eyesight will see from a completely different vantage point. You are much like the 'Pioneers' of old who headed west in search of new land to settle in. They had to trail blaze through uninhabited land to make a way for others to cross with ease. They were 'way makers' and 'visionaries'. What kept them pressing forward was a dream, a dream that held great promise of a better land in which to settle and grow strong roots. This fire placed within you was placed there by the Lord of Glory Himself. Knowing this is from Him will help us to continue in the journey though many obstacles will be encountered. We press for the mark of the high calling of Christ. The cost is great. It could cost you everything and then some. You will be frequently misunderstood, rejected, slandered, ridiculed, mocked, condemned, betrayed and left by your closest loved ones. The greatest pain will come from those that you love the most. It will come from friends who you thought to be faithful. This walk is indeed very lonely. But yet He is asking, 'Will you follow Me as I lead?' I can only pray that your answer will be, 'Yes, Lord, let it be unto me, according to Your will'. Brokenness will be a requirement. He will insist upon it. To be a vessel fit for His glory to reside and for Him to trust you, brokenness must come. There will come a time when one will begin to accept the refiner's fire and actually ask for more of it. Those who have been given the revelation of just how precious that refinement is, knowing that it is bringing us forth as gold. I liken this brokenness to the story of Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus as the Pharisees rebuked her. She took the bottle of alabaster and BROKE the bottle and the seal so that she could anoint her beloved Jesus with her most precious gift. She wiped His feet with her tears as she poured out her love to Him. Beloved, YOU are that bottle that needs to be broken. When broken, the fragrance of that brokenness will be so glorious before the Lord that it will rise to His nostrils and be most pleasing in His sight. The breaking brings forth humility and a contrite spirit which is of great worth in the sight of the King. Continual resistance from outside forces will only cause you to push in that much closer to the Lord. To remain stagnant would be like death to a revivalist. For it is built within them an internal push that cannot remain still. Mundane routines are very hard for them to endure. For a fire is blazing within them, the fire of a revivalist. Like the pioneers of old, they will encounter great difficulty. Some included impassable mountains, dense brush, severe weather, sickness and disease, wild animals, hunger and thirst as well as enemies. You can be certain there was much fighting in the ranks. It would take a strong leader to endure through it all. The pioneers' battles were mostly in the natural but what drove them to succeed was a dream. Our battle will occur in the mind, the natural and in the spiritual realm. But always keep in mind that the King of Kings goes before you and will light your path. If He is for us, who can be against us? He never said this walk would be easy. He only said, pick up your cross and follow Me. He is still saying that today. May our spirit be quick to say, 'Yes Lord, I will follow You wherever You lead'. SOURCE: www.revivalschool.com http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=31239 31239 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:53:00 +0000 What this clip all the way to the end, you might be surprised! What this clip all the way to the end, you might be surprised! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=31129 31129 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:24:00 +0000 So much of our Christian walk these days is spent in the shallow end of faith. We can spend years splashing around in the ankle-deep water thinking that we are advancing because we are creating ripples. It's fun, it's safe, it's enough to keep us cool, happy and content. But what the Spirit has been saying to me recently is actually an invitation and a call to go DEEPER. Deeper into the waters of the unknown. Deeper into a level where our feet are not touching what is safe and where we are in control. Deeper into our relationship with God in a way that opens us up to the supernatural realm of where God functions and activates our faith. Deeper. Deeper. And deeper still. Psalm 42:7 says, 'Deep cries out to deep...' The psalmist is crying out to God in the midst of suffering and struggles and instead of settling in them the deep parts of his being cries out to the deeper things of God. It is a cry out of desperation and a realization that God alone is his salvation. But what is a sad reality is that we often have to go through tests and trials to be awakened to our need to dig deeper because the shallow end is just not working for us. Desperation often does that to us...but why do we have to wait? Jesus right now is calling us deeper into the great unknown, but thankfully He knows full well what lies ahead. This captured my attention today as I came across the familiar story in Luke 5:1-11. Pay close attention to verses 4-5 where Jesus tells Peter; 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.' And Simon answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!...' I've stopped the last verse short because I am sure we can all relate to what Peter said. Peter was a very skilled and experienced fisherman. He knew that fish don't suddenly bite when he has just spent hours trying to catch them. After a long night of no success no doubt he was tired, disappointed and in need of a big breakfast, a soft bed and a long sleep. But here comes Jesus telling him to PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP and try again. 'O Jesus, c'mon, are you serious? I've tried this before and it didn't work. I've prayed for healing and it didn't work. I've prayed for breakthrough and it is still not here. I've cried out for a miracle, for restoration, for reconciliation and nothing!' Sound familiar? But notice the end of verse 5... And Simon answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.' Peter was no stupid fisherman (no offence to the fishermen out there). Though he knew little of Jesus he knew enough to obey and trust. Jesus' word is enough and that with His word comes a promise. With every declaration from Jesus comes back-up. That's really good news! Those words keep ringing in my ears...PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP. What does Jesus see and know that He is calling us out into the deep? What is He already prepared to provide in order for us to encounter His abundance? If this story is any indication, it is going to be far more than we have expected and more than we are able to carry on our own. Does anyone see the tsunami wave of revival coming? Things are going to get deeper than ever. So much of our Christian walk these days is spent in the shallow end of faith. We can spend years splashing around in the ankle-deep water thinking that we are advancing because we are creating ripples. It's fun, it's safe, it's enough to keep us cool, happy and content. But what the Spirit has been saying to me recently is actually an invitation and a call to go DEEPER. Deeper into the waters of the unknown. Deeper into a level where our feet are not touching what is safe and where we are in control. Deeper into our relationship with God in a way that opens us up to the supernatural realm of where God functions and activates our faith. Deeper. Deeper. And deeper still. Psalm 42:7 says, 'Deep cries out to deep...' The psalmist is crying out to God in the midst of suffering and struggles and instead of settling in them the deep parts of his being cries out to the deeper things of God. It is a cry out of desperation and a realization that God alone is his salvation. But what is a sad reality is that we often have to go through tests and trials to be awakened to our need to dig deeper because the shallow end is just not working for us. Desperation often does that to us...but why do we have to wait? Jesus right now is calling us deeper into the great unknown, but thankfully He knows full well what lies ahead. This captured my attention today as I came across the familiar story in Luke 5:1-11. Pay close attention to verses 4-5 where Jesus tells Peter; 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.' And Simon answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!...' I've stopped the last verse short because I am sure we can all relate to what Peter said. Peter was a very skilled and experienced fisherman. He knew that fish don't suddenly bite when he has just spent hours trying to catch them. After a long night of no success no doubt he was tired, disappointed and in need of a big breakfast, a soft bed and a long sleep. But here comes Jesus telling him to PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP and try again. 'O Jesus, c'mon, are you serious? I've tried this before and it didn't work. I've prayed for healing and it didn't work. I've prayed for breakthrough and it is still not here. I've cried out for a miracle, for restoration, for reconciliation and nothing!' Sound familiar? But notice the end of verse 5... And Simon answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.' Peter was no stupid fisherman (no offence to the fishermen out there). Though he knew little of Jesus he knew enough to obey and trust. Jesus' word is enough and that with His word comes a promise. With every declaration from Jesus comes back-up. That's really good news! Those words keep ringing in my ears...PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP. What does Jesus see and know that He is calling us out into the deep? What is He already prepared to provide in order for us to encounter His abundance? If this story is any indication, it is going to be far more than we have expected and more than we are able to carry on our own. Does anyone see the tsunami wave of revival coming? Things are going to get deeper than ever. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=30710 30710 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000 This time of year we tend to get introspective as we evaulate the past year and look forward to a new one. Some are asking God what is on His agenda and without surprise many are hearing the same things. This brings comfort knowing that these words are not someone's ideas but are from the heart of God sent out to those willing to listen. One such person is J. Lee Grady, former editor of Charisma Magazine and the director of The Mordecai Project. I really enjoy Grady's insights into the Charismatic culture and he is never shy in telling it like is. His book 'The Holy Spirit Is NOT For Sale' is a prime example of him shedding light on some of the questionable behaviour of so-called Spirit-filled leaders and uncovers the truth behind what he has seen over the years. His recent article really caught my attention as it shares a common heart for much of what is being said about this coming year. I want to share this article with you along with some thoughts at the end... A Word for 2012: New Leadership, New Boldness and New Provision - By J. Lee Grady. As I have prayed about the coming year, I've sensed three clear directives. Some people are terrified of 2012. They worry because the Mayans of ancient Mexico mysteriously ended their 5,126-year-old calendar on Dec. 21, 2012—as if they expected the world to end that day. This silly hypothesis became the basis for several New Age books and a goofy disaster movie, 2012, in which actor John Cusack avoids meteors and earthquakes just in time to get his family aboard the modern version of Noah's ark (built in China!) before the rest of the world is destroyed by a tsunami. I'm not afraid of 12/21/12 because (1) Ancient Mayans never actually said the world would end in 2012—and even if they did, they didn't have an inside track to God; (2) Doomsday predictions have never been accurate; and (3) Jesus holds the future in his hands. As long as I'm in relationship with Him, it doesn't matter what happens on earth. I'm secure. Despite strange weather patterns, global terrorism and the specter of an economic crash, I'm actually optimistic about where we're headed in 2012. And as I have prayed about the coming year, I've sensed these three clear directives: 1. Expect major transitions in kingdom leadership. The world is focused on leadership in the political arena, but God has been working behind the scenes preparing men and women for kingdom assignments. Our focus should not be on [our politicians]. 2012 is not about a [political] contest. Just as David was prepared for the throne during years of testing in the wilderness, a new battalion of Christian leaders has been trained in obscurity. They will be commissioned and appointed in the new year. And their influence—not that of a political figure—will shift the nation. Jesus said He would call the humble from the back row and seat them at the head table. He openly rewards those who pray, fast, give and serve in secret. God will exalt those who have walked with Him in faithfulness and crucified selfish ambition. As in the days of Elijah, He has reserved thousands of prophets who have not bowed their knee to Baal. They have been in isolated caves of preparation for years, and some have been on the verge of quitting. A wind of new strength will cause them to stand and assume their positions. 2. The sound of evangelism must be amplified. The prophet Isaiah said: 'Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!'' (Isa. 40:9). Just as the early disciples prayed for boldness in the midst of persecution, and the Lord answered with a supernatural earthquake (see Acts 4:29-31), the Lord wants to turn up the volume of our message and empower us with a spirit of might. We must put aside our timidity. We cannot hide our light under a basket. Many churches...have not made outreach a priority. We've catered to the saved and preached to the choir. The Holy Spirit wants to remodel and revamp weak churches and make them into powerhouses of spiritual impact. He can take a church with a four-cylinder engine and outfit it with eight; He can turn up the volume and cause a quiet congregation to shake a city. In 2012, expect small churches to be revitalized. God specializes in using small armies, like Gideon's group of 300, to catch the enemy by surprise. 3. Supernatural provision will be released. The great recession has brought heartache and difficulty to families, companies and churches, but it has a silver lining: God has used it to purify motives, refine faith and refocus priorities. The Holy Spirit has exposed our materialism, and His fire has also consumed unhealthy prosperity doctrines that tainted the church with scandal and greed. Today, a new passion is arising in the church to fight injustice, feed the poor, show compassion to the broken and share Jesus' love with unreached nations. We're tired of giving money to support charlatans who demand private jets and luxury treatment; we want to serve the orphan and the widow in the spirit of Christ. And we are asking God for His supply, knowing that if God can feed a multitude with one lunch, or provide for a family with one jar of oil, He can open sources of provision we never knew existed. Missionary Hudson Taylor said: 'God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.' I pray you will experience this truth in 2012. Isaiah 66:9 says: 'Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery? ... Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?' Don't fear the future. Receive new strength from the Lord as you step into this new year. No matter what disappointments or delays you have encountered during the past season, don't give up. God brought you to this point, and He will not fail you now. I too am sensing a mighty move of the Spirit gaining momentum in 2012. What many have been praying about and expecting will begin to see fruit as the ripples of revival have come and we are getting prepared to catch the coming wave! My prayer is that as these changes come and as we keep alert to see and hear what the Father is doing, we will not miss Him in the midst of our busy lives and preoccupation with self. There is a strong call to self-denial being heard again and it is crucial that we accept what God is doing from a position of pure, sold-out love for Jesus and a submission to Him above all else. May this coming year draw you closer to Jesus than ever before. May it see you being so consumed by the Holy Spirit that you begin to function under a revived power and authority that you will not recognize yourself. And may your life rise up to the Father as a beautiful fragrent offering, one that brings Him great pleasure and joy. Hold on dear friend, we are in for an amazing ride! HIS Kingdom come. HIS will be done on earth as in heaven! This time of year we tend to get introspective as we evaulate the past year and look forward to a new one. Some are asking God what is on His agenda and without surprise many are hearing the same things. This brings comfort knowing that these words are not someone's ideas but are from the heart of God sent out to those willing to listen. One such person is J. Lee Grady, former editor of Charisma Magazine and the director of The Mordecai Project. I really enjoy Grady's insights into the Charismatic culture and he is never shy in telling it like is. His book 'The Holy Spirit Is NOT For Sale' is a prime example of him shedding light on some of the questionable behaviour of so-called Spirit-filled leaders and uncovers the truth behind what he has seen over the years. His recent article really caught my attention as it shares a common heart for much of what is being said about this coming year. I want to share this article with you along with some thoughts at the end... A Word for 2012: New Leadership, New Boldness and New Provision - By J. Lee Grady. As I have prayed about the coming year, I've sensed three clear directives. Some people are terrified of 2012. They worry because the Mayans of ancient Mexico mysteriously ended their 5,126-year-old calendar on Dec. 21, 2012—as if they expected the world to end that day. This silly hypothesis became the basis for several New Age books and a goofy disaster movie, 2012, in which actor John Cusack avoids meteors and earthquakes just in time to get his family aboard the modern version of Noah's ark (built in China!) before the rest of the world is destroyed by a tsunami. I'm not afraid of 12/21/12 because (1) Ancient Mayans never actually said the world would end in 2012—and even if they did, they didn't have an inside track to God; (2) Doomsday predictions have never been accurate; and (3) Jesus holds the future in his hands. As long as I'm in relationship with Him, it doesn't matter what happens on earth. I'm secure. Despite strange weather patterns, global terrorism and the specter of an economic crash, I'm actually optimistic about where we're headed in 2012. And as I have prayed about the coming year, I've sensed these three clear directives: 1. Expect major transitions in kingdom leadership. The world is focused on leadership in the political arena, but God has been working behind the scenes preparing men and women for kingdom assignments. Our focus should not be on [our politicians]. 2012 is not about a [political] contest. Just as David was prepared for the throne during years of testing in the wilderness, a new battalion of Christian leaders has been trained in obscurity. They will be commissioned and appointed in the new year. And their influence—not that of a political figure—will shift the nation. Jesus said He would call the humble from the back row and seat them at the head table. He openly rewards those who pray, fast, give and serve in secret. God will exalt those who have walked with Him in faithfulness and crucified selfish ambition. As in the days of Elijah, He has reserved thousands of prophets who have not bowed their knee to Baal. They have been in isolated caves of preparation for years, and some have been on the verge of quitting. A wind of new strength will cause them to stand and assume their positions. 2. The sound of evangelism must be amplified. The prophet Isaiah said: 'Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!'' (Isa. 40:9). Just as the early disciples prayed for boldness in the midst of persecution, and the Lord answered with a supernatural earthquake (see Acts 4:29-31), the Lord wants to turn up the volume of our message and empower us with a spirit of might. We must put aside our timidity. We cannot hide our light under a basket. Many churches...have not made outreach a priority. We've catered to the saved and preached to the choir. The Holy Spirit wants to remodel and revamp weak churches and make them into powerhouses of spiritual impact. He can take a church with a four-cylinder engine and outfit it with eight; He can turn up the volume and cause a quiet congregation to shake a city. In 2012, expect small churches to be revitalized. God specializes in using small armies, like Gideon's group of 300, to catch the enemy by surprise. 3. Supernatural provision will be released. The great recession has brought heartache and difficulty to families, companies and churches, but it has a silver lining: God has used it to purify motives, refine faith and refocus priorities. The Holy Spirit has exposed our materialism, and His fire has also consumed unhealthy prosperity doctrines that tainted the church with scandal and greed. Today, a new passion is arising in the church to fight injustice, feed the poor, show compassion to the broken and share Jesus' love with unreached nations. We're tired of giving money to support charlatans who demand private jets and luxury treatment; we want to serve the orphan and the widow in the spirit of Christ. And we are asking God for His supply, knowing that if God can feed a multitude with one lunch, or provide for a family with one jar of oil, He can open sources of provision we never knew existed. Missionary Hudson Taylor said: 'God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.' I pray you will experience this truth in 2012. Isaiah 66:9 says: 'Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery? ... Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?' Don't fear the future. Receive new strength from the Lord as you step into this new year. No matter what disappointments or delays you have encountered during the past season, don't give up. God brought you to this point, and He will not fail you now. I too am sensing a mighty move of the Spirit gaining momentum in 2012. What many have been praying about and expecting will begin to see fruit as the ripples of revival have come and we are getting prepared to catch the coming wave! My prayer is that as these changes come and as we keep alert to see and hear what the Father is doing, we will not miss Him in the midst of our busy lives and preoccupation with self. There is a strong call to self-denial being heard again and it is crucial that we accept what God is doing from a position of pure, sold-out love for Jesus and a submission to Him above all else. May this coming year draw you closer to Jesus than ever before. May it see you being so consumed by the Holy Spirit that you begin to function under a revived power and authority that you will not recognize yourself. And may your life rise up to the Father as a beautiful fragrent offering, one that brings Him great pleasure and joy. Hold on dear friend, we are in for an amazing ride! HIS Kingdom come. HIS will be done on earth as in heaven! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=30365 30365 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:26:00 +0000 Those who have been readers of this blog and hearers of my sermons know that the urgent need for revival in our churches and nations is something that burns within my heart like a wild-fire. I cannot stop crying out to God for my church, town and nation and for a tsunami wave of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in Joel 2:28-29 proportions. I intercede to see a revival and great awakening so shocking that the sleeping giant called The Church would suddenly be alerted to the urgency of our mission and arise to function in the supernatural nature we are already equipped to operate in. I wait and hold on with eager expectation to see God's people grab a hold of God's superior Kingdom reality and bring a collision of kingdoms that will finally show this skeptical world that our God cannot be stopped, silenced or killed off. I am beginning to celebrate the darkness retreating as the Kingdom of Christ takes back what satan stole. So, in this blog I want to share with you an urgent cry for such a revival from Rick Joyner. He wisely reminds us of what it takes to see God move in such a momentous way. Here is his most recent article... Week 50, 2011 As I write this Word for the Week for the 50th week of the year, I thought about how 50 is the number of freedom, the Jubilee. In the biblical Jubilee, all debts were canceled and all slaves were freed. Why can't we ask God for a Jubilee now? The world is burdened with unprecedented and unsustainable debt, and even worse, it is burdened by unprecedented sin. As great as this sin and debt is, it is not beyond the power of the cross. There is an equation that can turn pending disaster into the greatest of all blessings. It is: Repentance + Hunger for God = Revival. Repentance is the result of the realization and acknowledgement of our transgressions. This is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did when they sinned, which was to hide and cover themselves. Repentance is when we run to God and not away from Him when we fail. Revival means to revive—either from sleep or from the dead. Both are needed at this time. Much of the church is asleep, and some churches are dead and are only breathing because of artificial life support. We need reviving. We must have revival! Of course, great churches and great things are taking place in the body of Christ. However, with research showing that only about 6 percent of those who claim to be Christians have a biblical worldview, we obviously have a very basic problem. This is also about the same percentage of those who know their calling and ministry with even less walking in it. At this time, less than 50 percent even attend a local church, and much less have the kind of vital local church life we need for true Christian maturity. We need a revival! In the visions I have had of the future, I was shown far more revival than calamity. I don't think I have ever felt the kind of urgency and seriousness for anything like I feel for our [nations] at this time. Even so, I know that revival can preempt many of the things presently destined to come upon us. We need companies of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefields, Evan Roberts, William Seymours, Frank Bartlemans, and Maria Woodworth-Etters. When the Lord prophesied the judgment that was to come upon Jerusalem, He lamented how often He had tried to gather them like a mother hen gathers her chicks. The implication was that if they would gather to Him, the destruction of Jerusalem would not have to happen. The Lord is doing many things right now to gather His people, and we must respond and gather together to Him.... We cannot love God if we do not know Him. The more we know Him, the more we will love Him. Neither can we love each other if we do not know each other. We must resolve that above all things these two we will do and grow in continually. If the great tragedy at the end is that the love of most will grow cold because of lawlessness, let us resolve to grow more and more in our love for God and one another, rejecting the spirit of lawlessness that is stealing His people's love. Those who have been readers of this blog and hearers of my sermons know that the urgent need for revival in our churches and nations is something that burns within my heart like a wild-fire. I cannot stop crying out to God for my church, town and nation and for a tsunami wave of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in Joel 2:28-29 proportions. I intercede to see a revival and great awakening so shocking that the sleeping giant called The Church would suddenly be alerted to the urgency of our mission and arise to function in the supernatural nature we are already equipped to operate in. I wait and hold on with eager expectation to see God's people grab a hold of God's superior Kingdom reality and bring a collision of kingdoms that will finally show this skeptical world that our God cannot be stopped, silenced or killed off. I am beginning to celebrate the darkness retreating as the Kingdom of Christ takes back what satan stole. So, in this blog I want to share with you an urgent cry for such a revival from Rick Joyner. He wisely reminds us of what it takes to see God move in such a momentous way. Here is his most recent article... Week 50, 2011 As I write this Word for the Week for the 50th week of the year, I thought about how 50 is the number of freedom, the Jubilee. In the biblical Jubilee, all debts were canceled and all slaves were freed. Why can't we ask God for a Jubilee now? The world is burdened with unprecedented and unsustainable debt, and even worse, it is burdened by unprecedented sin. As great as this sin and debt is, it is not beyond the power of the cross. There is an equation that can turn pending disaster into the greatest of all blessings. It is: Repentance + Hunger for God = Revival. Repentance is the result of the realization and acknowledgement of our transgressions. This is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did when they sinned, which was to hide and cover themselves. Repentance is when we run to God and not away from Him when we fail. Revival means to revive—either from sleep or from the dead. Both are needed at this time. Much of the church is asleep, and some churches are dead and are only breathing because of artificial life support. We need reviving. We must have revival! Of course, great churches and great things are taking place in the body of Christ. However, with research showing that only about 6 percent of those who claim to be Christians have a biblical worldview, we obviously have a very basic problem. This is also about the same percentage of those who know their calling and ministry with even less walking in it. At this time, less than 50 percent even attend a local church, and much less have the kind of vital local church life we need for true Christian maturity. We need a revival! In the visions I have had of the future, I was shown far more revival than calamity. I don't think I have ever felt the kind of urgency and seriousness for anything like I feel for our [nations] at this time. Even so, I know that revival can preempt many of the things presently destined to come upon us. We need companies of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefields, Evan Roberts, William Seymours, Frank Bartlemans, and Maria Woodworth-Etters. When the Lord prophesied the judgment that was to come upon Jerusalem, He lamented how often He had tried to gather them like a mother hen gathers her chicks. The implication was that if they would gather to Him, the destruction of Jerusalem would not have to happen. The Lord is doing many things right now to gather His people, and we must respond and gather together to Him.... We cannot love God if we do not know Him. The more we know Him, the more we will love Him. Neither can we love each other if we do not know each other. We must resolve that above all things these two we will do and grow in continually. If the great tragedy at the end is that the love of most will grow cold because of lawlessness, let us resolve to grow more and more in our love for God and one another, rejecting the spirit of lawlessness that is stealing His people's love. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=30113 30113 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:15:00 +0000 More and more recently God has been shattering the theological box and framework I have placed Him in. You see, we all fall into this error quite easily. In our desire to try and explain Him, understand Him and make Him fit our theology, we create so-called 'boxes' to put Him in. What this does is shape a functional idol that we can control and manipulate to use whenever we feel so inclined. Don't think for one second that idolatry is dead. It is alive and thriving in many Christian Churches around the world as God's people still try to shape a god who looks likes us, speaks and thinks like us and therefore serves us. One thing that has been most significant in my 'box' being shattered is the ministry and current happenings at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. I have been deeply impacted by Pastor Bill Johnson's ministry and am so much better for it. But what has really messed me up is how God has chosen to manifest His presence during the Sunday services. I can understand the skepticism and doubt about such manifestations, but what happens when my 'God-box' gets destroyed is that it opens one up to the 'signs that make you wonder' and the mysterious workings of our Almighty God. So have a look at this recent footage taken during one of Bethel Church's evening services which suddenly appeared above the congregation... This 'glory cloud' appeared and then faded away. This happened on many occasions recently and shows up without any use of smoke machines (Bethel Church does not use such equipment during their church services), trickery or man-made production. So why would God bother with such a display of His presence? Sure, He appeared in a cloud in the Old Testament and in many other ways throughout Scripture, but why a cloud filled with little specs of gold dust? What scriptural backing is there for it happening now? Here is a vital verse for the skeptics and those who still feel the need to fit God into their 'box' - Psalm 115:3, 'Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.' He doesn't have to explain Himself to us or show up at our prescribed moment during our carefully timed services. No, He is God and He does whatever He likes! The truth is this...He comes where He is wanted. Many have testified of strange manifestations such as gold dust covering people during worship, precious jewels appearing that are too perfect to be man-made, feathers falling out of nowhere, rain falling in doors, a wild wind and deafening sound suddenly overwhelming everyone, etc. All I know is that our God is reminding us that He is bigger than we can fathom and will not be restricted by our theological structures and limitations. If you are ever interested in reading a real-life account of this and how God shattered an old-order Mennonite pastor's theological box, then do yourself a favour and read 'Following the Fire' by Gerald Derstine. His account will rock your world and leave you shocked and yet craving more of God in your life. I cannot help but think about how many occasions we have missed when God wanted to manifest His glory but we were too busy, too concerned about the clock, too caught up in our performances, too worried about the opinions of others and just too self-centred to receive God? Have we simply become a people that can 'do' church without His help? Do we need the Holy Spirit anymore? Do we value His presence above our need to be entertained? Is Jesus really glorified in our gatherings? Is He welcome to appear at any moment and then do we adjust everything around His presence? I am sensing a deep calling to learn how to host His presence well. I have a long-held conviction that HE must become the focal point of our gatherings. He must be the 'main attraction'. He must be given room to be God amongst us and if we would just listen and follow we will encounter Him in ways that we've only ever read about. Bill Johnson explained it well when describing the current events. He said that the glory cloud is never worshipped but rather points us to a superior reality and to the awesome presence of God. That's why we can receive such manifestations without it becoming yet another expression of idolatry. So watch and listen because He just might show up in a way that defies logic and shatters your 'box' proving that He is God above all and mighty beyond explanation. Don't get all religious on Him, you just might miss Him. More and more recently God has been shattering the theological box and framework I have placed Him in. You see, we all fall into this error quite easily. In our desire to try and explain Him, understand Him and make Him fit our theology, we create so-called 'boxes' to put Him in. What this does is shape a functional idol that we can control and manipulate to use whenever we feel so inclined. Don't think for one second that idolatry is dead. It is alive and thriving in many Christian Churches around the world as God's people still try to shape a god who looks likes us, speaks and thinks like us and therefore serves us. One thing that has been most significant in my 'box' being shattered is the ministry and current happenings at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. I have been deeply impacted by Pastor Bill Johnson's ministry and am so much better for it. But what has really messed me up is how God has chosen to manifest His presence during the Sunday services. I can understand the skepticism and doubt about such manifestations, but what happens when my 'God-box' gets destroyed is that it opens one up to the 'signs that make you wonder' and the mysterious workings of our Almighty God. So have a look at this recent footage taken during one of Bethel Church's evening services which suddenly appeared above the congregation... This 'glory cloud' appeared and then faded away. This happened on many occasions recently and shows up without any use of smoke machines (Bethel Church does not use such equipment during their church services), trickery or man-made production. So why would God bother with such a display of His presence? Sure, He appeared in a cloud in the Old Testament and in many other ways throughout Scripture, but why a cloud filled with little specs of gold dust? What scriptural backing is there for it happening now? Here is a vital verse for the skeptics and those who still feel the need to fit God into their 'box' - Psalm 115:3, 'Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.' He doesn't have to explain Himself to us or show up at our prescribed moment during our carefully timed services. No, He is God and He does whatever He likes! The truth is this...He comes where He is wanted. Many have testified of strange manifestations such as gold dust covering people during worship, precious jewels appearing that are too perfect to be man-made, feathers falling out of nowhere, rain falling in doors, a wild wind and deafening sound suddenly overwhelming everyone, etc. All I know is that our God is reminding us that He is bigger than we can fathom and will not be restricted by our theological structures and limitations. If you are ever interested in reading a real-life account of this and how God shattered an old-order Mennonite pastor's theological box, then do yourself a favour and read 'Following the Fire' by Gerald Derstine. His account will rock your world and leave you shocked and yet craving more of God in your life. I cannot help but think about how many occasions we have missed when God wanted to manifest His glory but we were too busy, too concerned about the clock, too caught up in our performances, too worried about the opinions of others and just too self-centred to receive God? Have we simply become a people that can 'do' church without His help? Do we need the Holy Spirit anymore? Do we value His presence above our need to be entertained? Is Jesus really glorified in our gatherings? Is He welcome to appear at any moment and then do we adjust everything around His presence? I am sensing a deep calling to learn how to host His presence well. I have a long-held conviction that HE must become the focal point of our gatherings. He must be the 'main attraction'. He must be given room to be God amongst us and if we would just listen and follow we will encounter Him in ways that we've only ever read about. Bill Johnson explained it well when describing the current events. He said that the glory cloud is never worshipped but rather points us to a superior reality and to the awesome presence of God. That's why we can receive such manifestations without it becoming yet another expression of idolatry. So watch and listen because He just might show up in a way that defies logic and shatters your 'box' proving that He is God above all and mighty beyond explanation. Don't get all religious on Him, you just might miss Him. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=29685 29685 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:23:00 +0000 This past weekend (19th-20th November) we celebrated as a Church 10 amazing years of God's goodness, faithfulness and love. It was a breathtaking celebration and it brought us healing from the past and hope for the future. The main event was on the Saturday night and held at a local church (Melton Christian Fellowship). We sent invitations to everyone that has come through the church over the ten years, regardless of whether it was good or bad. We wanted to express our thankfulness to everyone and honour them for their valuable contribution over the years. It was a night filled with excitement, nerves and expectation. Everyone came with an awesome attitude and an eagerness to give God the glory for all that He has done. What I was most encouraged and impressed by was the way various people came who had left our church for whatever reason. Throughout our history some left in anger, others with peace and others with a desire for something different. But regardless of the reason the spirit of unity was so strong and love ruled the day. The kids made sure we knew how good God is with a great song and dance. Their exhuberance was contagious and got us all praising God and shouting His name. When it was time for me to get up and preach, I must admit, I felt extremely nervous and on edge. You see, pastors are on the frontline of church life and any issues, problems and trouble hits us first. I am yet to find a pastor that is uneffected by people leaving the church. It is brutal, hard, painful and difficult to come to terms with (most of the time). But as I began to speak the Holy Spirit overcame me and poured out love for the people and I saw this moment filled with healing in every word and restoration. I tried to be open about the times when I didn't get it right. But the focus was definitely on the greatness of God and we honoured Him for that. One of the most touching moments was having our previous associate pastor Richard Igic and mentor Pastor Hugo Pacciocco share their heart with us. They spoke of the memories they had and how God brought them into His will. It was wonderful to see these men of God be a part of this celebration because they were precious gifts to me and us as a Church, especially in the earlier years. Love their heart! Then the service came to a close with a deeply moving moment when some of the local church pastors came around my wife and I to pray for us. I have grown very close to these mighty leaders and am better for it. Together we share the same heart for our town and nation and pray together weekly and for this I am very grateful. As they prayed for us I felt an intensity of God's approval and pleasure seeing His leaders from across the churches pray and lift each other up. It was a most significant moment and one that I know brought our Abba Father in Heaven much joy. The night ended as it began...worshipping the One who made it all possible. We only stand today as a Church because of God's faithfulness, power and love for us. He kept us standing when I thought we would be finished within a week. He kept us on track when I had no idea where we were going. He kept us close in His embrace and never left our side. He alone is worthy of all the glory, the honour and the praise! So ten years have gone and by God's grace many more decades still to come. I am more excited about our calling and direction as a church as I have been in the entire ten year history. God is revealing to us a depth of His Kingdom and His Kingship that is burning within us and is being expressed in radical, faith-filled ways. I am so proud of CityWest Church and every person that calls it home. I am honoured to be their pastor and thrilled to be leading us into our destined future and inspiring vision. Thank you once again to everyone who has spent some time with us. Whether it was a few weeks, months or years, you have left a valuable mark upon us and I am thankful to Jesus for allowing our lives to connect. We all serve the King no matter where we are. Lift Him High because He alone is worthy!!! This past weekend (19th-20th November) we celebrated as a Church 10 amazing years of God's goodness, faithfulness and love. It was a breathtaking celebration and it brought us healing from the past and hope for the future. The main event was on the Saturday night and held at a local church (Melton Christian Fellowship). We sent invitations to everyone that has come through the church over the ten years, regardless of whether it was good or bad. We wanted to express our thankfulness to everyone and honour them for their valuable contribution over the years. It was a night filled with excitement, nerves and expectation. Everyone came with an awesome attitude and an eagerness to give God the glory for all that He has done. What I was most encouraged and impressed by was the way various people came who had left our church for whatever reason. Throughout our history some left in anger, others with peace and others with a desire for something different. But regardless of the reason the spirit of unity was so strong and love ruled the day. The kids made sure we knew how good God is with a great song and dance. Their exhuberance was contagious and got us all praising God and shouting His name. When it was time for me to get up and preach, I must admit, I felt extremely nervous and on edge. You see, pastors are on the frontline of church life and any issues, problems and trouble hits us first. I am yet to find a pastor that is uneffected by people leaving the church. It is brutal, hard, painful and difficult to come to terms with (most of the time). But as I began to speak the Holy Spirit overcame me and poured out love for the people and I saw this moment filled with healing in every word and restoration. I tried to be open about the times when I didn't get it right. But the focus was definitely on the greatness of God and we honoured Him for that. One of the most touching moments was having our previous associate pastor Richard Igic and mentor Pastor Hugo Pacciocco share their heart with us. They spoke of the memories they had and how God brought them into His will. It was wonderful to see these men of God be a part of this celebration because they were precious gifts to me and us as a Church, especially in the earlier years. Love their heart! Then the service came to a close with a deeply moving moment when some of the local church pastors came around my wife and I to pray for us. I have grown very close to these mighty leaders and am better for it. Together we share the same heart for our town and nation and pray together weekly and for this I am very grateful. As they prayed for us I felt an intensity of God's approval and pleasure seeing His leaders from across the churches pray and lift each other up. It was a most significant moment and one that I know brought our Abba Father in Heaven much joy. The night ended as it began...worshipping the One who made it all possible. We only stand today as a Church because of God's faithfulness, power and love for us. He kept us standing when I thought we would be finished within a week. He kept us on track when I had no idea where we were going. He kept us close in His embrace and never left our side. He alone is worthy of all the glory, the honour and the praise! So ten years have gone and by God's grace many more decades still to come. I am more excited about our calling and direction as a church as I have been in the entire ten year history. God is revealing to us a depth of His Kingdom and His Kingship that is burning within us and is being expressed in radical, faith-filled ways. I am so proud of CityWest Church and every person that calls it home. I am honoured to be their pastor and thrilled to be leading us into our destined future and inspiring vision. Thank you once again to everyone who has spent some time with us. Whether it was a few weeks, months or years, you have left a valuable mark upon us and I am thankful to Jesus for allowing our lives to connect. We all serve the King no matter where we are. Lift Him High because He alone is worthy!!! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=29467 29467 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000 I love testimonies that make much of God and prove once again how good, awesome and compassionate He really is. I love it how He turns the seemingly ordinary moments of life into divine invasions of His supernatural power and leaves everyone in awe and wonder. One such moment deeply moved me as Chad Dedmon from Bethel Church shared of such an encounter whilst going about his business of stocking up on donuts. Watch this and celebrate the awesome power and authority of our Almighty God! What is happening to your faith as you hear of such miraculous invasions? I love testimonies that make much of God and prove once again how good, awesome and compassionate He really is. I love it how He turns the seemingly ordinary moments of life into divine invasions of His supernatural power and leaves everyone in awe and wonder. One such moment deeply moved me as Chad Dedmon from Bethel Church shared of such an encounter whilst going about his business of stocking up on donuts. Watch this and celebrate the awesome power and authority of our Almighty God! What is happening to your faith as you hear of such miraculous invasions? http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=29129 29129 Wed, 9 Nov 2011 23:42:00 +0000 Every teenage boy dreams of this statement, 'Here's the keys son'. Oh the joy! The dream becomes reality of cruising down the highway, windows down, music loud, with nowhere to go, but that doesn't matter, 'This is freedom baby!!' I remember that moment so well. I was recently confronted with the same statement, yet with far more significance than the freedom to drive the old man's car. These 'keys' are priceless and they carry with them a huge responsibility and greater joy. Here is what was said to me: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' - Matt 16:19 (ESV) A little unsure by what He meant, I asked for it in another way. He said, OK, son, listen to me, '...You will have complete and free access to [My] kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.' - Matt 16:19 (The Message) WHAT!? The Father is actually giving me the keys to His Kingdom! Not only me, but every one of His kids. Do you understand what this means? It means we can access HIS REALITY and grab a hold of it and then bring it into ours. It means that we have clear access to His realm of power and presence and we can literally exist under an open heaven. This 'Kingdom reality' is overwhelming me. Think about this, because we have the 'keys to the kingdom' the very nature of our prayers must change. There exists now an awareness of our delegated authority, of our right as sons and daughters of the King. We don't have to beg and plead as if to twist God's arm to pour out His love, power and blessings, we just need to reach up, take hold of it. The Father said so. Great evangelist, healer and preacher of old Smith Wigglesworth once said, 'If a thing is in the Bible, it is so; it is not even to be prayed about; it is to be received and acted upon. Inactivity of faith is a robber, which steals blessing. Increase comes by action, by using what we have and what we know. Your life must be one of going from faith to faith.' Doesn't that take the guess work out of prayer? I have been deeply convicted lately of not honouring Jesus by taking hold of and living out of what He actually died to give me. I'll admit sometimes I've lived like an unappreciative child, ungrateful for what my Father in Heaven has given me. It's like me saying to my children, 'Ok kids, your mother and I have worked hard and long to provide you with this new home. It cost us a lot and some big sacrifices had to be made. We've spent a lot of time and money on your own rooms and made sure you have all you need. So go ahead, enjoy the blessing.' But then one of my children come up to me and say, 'Look Dad, I know what you've done, but I would really prefer sleeping and living outside with our dog in the mud. I'm not worthy of such a blessing. I'll just settle for the mud.' I would be greatly saddened and dishonoured by such a decision. Yet, how many Christians dishonour Father God by doing the same thing? So brother and sister, you have in your possession the keys to the Father's Kingdom, paid for with the precious blood of Jesus and made possible through the indwelling of His Spirit. Let's stop dishonouring Him with living below holy lives that look and smell like the filthy mud and mire of the world. The King is inviting you to take hold of His Kingdom. Make it home. Live in it's superior reality and enjoy all that He promises. Every teenage boy dreams of this statement, 'Here's the keys son'. Oh the joy! The dream becomes reality of cruising down the highway, windows down, music loud, with nowhere to go, but that doesn't matter, 'This is freedom baby!!' I remember that moment so well. I was recently confronted with the same statement, yet with far more significance than the freedom to drive the old man's car. These 'keys' are priceless and they carry with them a huge responsibility and greater joy. Here is what was said to me: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' - Matt 16:19 (ESV) A little unsure by what He meant, I asked for it in another way. He said, OK, son, listen to me, '...You will have complete and free access to [My] kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.' - Matt 16:19 (The Message) WHAT!? The Father is actually giving me the keys to His Kingdom! Not only me, but every one of His kids. Do you understand what this means? It means we can access HIS REALITY and grab a hold of it and then bring it into ours. It means that we have clear access to His realm of power and presence and we can literally exist under an open heaven. This 'Kingdom reality' is overwhelming me. Think about this, because we have the 'keys to the kingdom' the very nature of our prayers must change. There exists now an awareness of our delegated authority, of our right as sons and daughters of the King. We don't have to beg and plead as if to twist God's arm to pour out His love, power and blessings, we just need to reach up, take hold of it. The Father said so. Great evangelist, healer and preacher of old Smith Wigglesworth once said, 'If a thing is in the Bible, it is so; it is not even to be prayed about; it is to be received and acted upon. Inactivity of faith is a robber, which steals blessing. Increase comes by action, by using what we have and what we know. Your life must be one of going from faith to faith.' Doesn't that take the guess work out of prayer? I have been deeply convicted lately of not honouring Jesus by taking hold of and living out of what He actually died to give me. I'll admit sometimes I've lived like an unappreciative child, ungrateful for what my Father in Heaven has given me. It's like me saying to my children, 'Ok kids, your mother and I have worked hard and long to provide you with this new home. It cost us a lot and some big sacrifices had to be made. We've spent a lot of time and money on your own rooms and made sure you have all you need. So go ahead, enjoy the blessing.' But then one of my children come up to me and say, 'Look Dad, I know what you've done, but I would really prefer sleeping and living outside with our dog in the mud. I'm not worthy of such a blessing. I'll just settle for the mud.' I would be greatly saddened and dishonoured by such a decision. Yet, how many Christians dishonour Father God by doing the same thing? So brother and sister, you have in your possession the keys to the Father's Kingdom, paid for with the precious blood of Jesus and made possible through the indwelling of His Spirit. Let's stop dishonouring Him with living below holy lives that look and smell like the filthy mud and mire of the world. The King is inviting you to take hold of His Kingdom. Make it home. Live in it's superior reality and enjoy all that He promises. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=28513 28513 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:32:00 +0000 This past weekend we had our annual Church camp and it was fantastic! I really think it was the best one we have had. Thanks to all involved, you made it awesome. Coming out from our morning devotions and subsequent teaching was a statement that caught some of us off guard and rocked our world. Through a discussion on the significance of a Spirit-filled and divinely empowered Church we had to confront the obvious. This is what deeply touched us - in a world that is skeptical and cold towards God and His Church, what can we possibly offer them that they can't find somewhere else? What difference is there from us and a rock concert? What difference is there from our programs of care and from what the government agencies provide? What difference is there from us and a motivaltional pep talk you can get at any business conference or seminar? Yeah sure, I know the cliche answers like, 'We offer them Jesus.' Or, 'We offer them support and love.' Good, keep on doing that, but don't the results and fruits of our labours scream for more!!! Isn't it obvious that our endless hours and dollars spent are not giving us the results we know should be possible. I mean, don't we serve a Mighty and All Powerful God? Here is what was discovered...Is not the diference we offer the fact that we are SUPERNATURAL by our very nature? Are we not filled with the same Holy Spirit Jesus and His early followers were who shook the world? Are we not also sent to this world with the same delegated authority and power they were? Is this the difference that will make the greatest difference? We in today's Church are great at telling them about our Almighty God who can do all things and who is above all, yet why are we ok when we don't show them this to be true. By showing them I mean in ways that make it very clear and obvious that our God is a powerful, miracle-working God who loves mankind and wants to heal them, save them and restore them. I am deeply convicted by this gap in our theology and practice. Jesus wants us to get back to a SHOW and TELL gospel. The whole gospel message we are sent to present to the world includes both words and deeds, proclamation and proof that it works. It is not enough to tell them, hand them a brochure or a tract and say, 'Just believe it ok!' I'm not inventing this. Read the gospels and focus on how Jesus did ministry. Look at how He sent out His disciples and what He told them to do and then look at how Paul also flowed with this pattern. Supernatural signs and wonders flowed from their preaching 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand'. Bill Johnson explains this well in a short article he wrote: You Were Born for the Impossible... The reason God didn't take you take you to be with Him when you were born again is because you have the divine assignment to invade the impossible. The reality of the Christian life is measured by the impact of the impossible. Much of what we give God credit for can be done by any club. I don't mean God is not involved, I'm just saying all it is doing is tapping into human talent to accomplish what mankind can accomplish. What satisfaction is there in human accomplishment? There is some, but it's not really lasting. It's nothing like having cancer disappear. It's nothing like the mother that lost the use of one arm to an accident, lost three inches of bone. She couldn't grasp, couldn't raise her arm; she couldn't pick up her two year old because of this surgery. She had five surgeries in four and a half years. There was nothing like watching a lady pray for her and watching God add the three inches of bone adding all movement, all feeling, everything. Then she goes to pick up her two year old and her little girl says, 'No mommy broken arm' because that's all she has heard her whole life. To then see her say to her little girl, 'No, it's ok now.' And that's who you are! You were born into this family, the actual Spirit of the resurrected Christ took up residents in us. He's in us and He wants out! As a church we are stepping into the great unknown and prepared to grow into our supernatural nature. That will mean many of our long held beliefs and opinions will have to change so that Kingdom living would be possible. To be honest, in my flesh I am quite nervous and scared by the whole thing, but my spiritual nature cannot stand it any more! What will happen now... His Kingdom come. His will be done. On earth as it is in heaven...NOW EVERYTHING CHANGES! This past weekend we had our annual Church camp and it was fantastic! I really think it was the best one we have had. Thanks to all involved, you made it awesome. Coming out from our morning devotions and subsequent teaching was a statement that caught some of us off guard and rocked our world. Through a discussion on the significance of a Spirit-filled and divinely empowered Church we had to confront the obvious. This is what deeply touched us - in a world that is skeptical and cold towards God and His Church, what can we possibly offer them that they can't find somewhere else? What difference is there from us and a rock concert? What difference is there from our programs of care and from what the government agencies provide? What difference is there from us and a motivaltional pep talk you can get at any business conference or seminar? Yeah sure, I know the cliche answers like, 'We offer them Jesus.' Or, 'We offer them support and love.' Good, keep on doing that, but don't the results and fruits of our labours scream for more!!! Isn't it obvious that our endless hours and dollars spent are not giving us the results we know should be possible. I mean, don't we serve a Mighty and All Powerful God? Here is what was discovered...Is not the diference we offer the fact that we are SUPERNATURAL by our very nature? Are we not filled with the same Holy Spirit Jesus and His early followers were who shook the world? Are we not also sent to this world with the same delegated authority and power they were? Is this the difference that will make the greatest difference? We in today's Church are great at telling them about our Almighty God who can do all things and who is above all, yet why are we ok when we don't show them this to be true. By showing them I mean in ways that make it very clear and obvious that our God is a powerful, miracle-working God who loves mankind and wants to heal them, save them and restore them. I am deeply convicted by this gap in our theology and practice. Jesus wants us to get back to a SHOW and TELL gospel. The whole gospel message we are sent to present to the world includes both words and deeds, proclamation and proof that it works. It is not enough to tell them, hand them a brochure or a tract and say, 'Just believe it ok!' I'm not inventing this. Read the gospels and focus on how Jesus did ministry. Look at how He sent out His disciples and what He told them to do and then look at how Paul also flowed with this pattern. Supernatural signs and wonders flowed from their preaching 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand'. Bill Johnson explains this well in a short article he wrote: You Were Born for the Impossible... The reason God didn't take you take you to be with Him when you were born again is because you have the divine assignment to invade the impossible. The reality of the Christian life is measured by the impact of the impossible. Much of what we give God credit for can be done by any club. I don't mean God is not involved, I'm just saying all it is doing is tapping into human talent to accomplish what mankind can accomplish. What satisfaction is there in human accomplishment? There is some, but it's not really lasting. It's nothing like having cancer disappear. It's nothing like the mother that lost the use of one arm to an accident, lost three inches of bone. She couldn't grasp, couldn't raise her arm; she couldn't pick up her two year old because of this surgery. She had five surgeries in four and a half years. There was nothing like watching a lady pray for her and watching God add the three inches of bone adding all movement, all feeling, everything. Then she goes to pick up her two year old and her little girl says, 'No mommy broken arm' because that's all she has heard her whole life. To then see her say to her little girl, 'No, it's ok now.' And that's who you are! You were born into this family, the actual Spirit of the resurrected Christ took up residents in us. He's in us and He wants out! As a church we are stepping into the great unknown and prepared to grow into our supernatural nature. That will mean many of our long held beliefs and opinions will have to change so that Kingdom living would be possible. To be honest, in my flesh I am quite nervous and scared by the whole thing, but my spiritual nature cannot stand it any more! What will happen now... His Kingdom come. His will be done. On earth as it is in heaven...NOW EVERYTHING CHANGES! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=27782 27782 Thu, 6 Oct 2011 00:19:00 +0000 It's been just over a month since my life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit. It was unexpected and I felt ambushed and cornered but ever so thankful! This is what happened...my wife Caroline and I were at the More Conference held at Stairway Church (formerly C3 Whitehorse) in Vermont. We enjoyed two and half days with Pastor Bill Johnson and Evangelist Leif Hetland. The teaching was powerful, as were the testimonies of healing and supernatural breakthrough. We met some amazing people of God and were greatly encouraged by their prophetic insights and prayers. As the last day approached I was quite tired. After the morning session I was ready to go home and miss out on the last session after lunch. After some convincing from my wife we decided to stay. Suddenly they announced that the last session was cancelled and instead Bill and Leif would go around to each person and pray a prayer of impartation and blessing. Sounded interesting. So we eventually lined up, side-by-side, with the other 1100 delegates and with some beautiful worship music playing just soaked ourselves in the presence of God. I watched as some people were falling down, some were standing and soaking in God's presence. Some were singing, some were laughing, some were shaking and some were unmoved. Now, I must make this clear. I've seen this all before and have never been very impressed by it. I never chased these sensations and to be honest I was quite skeptical about whether or not these were authentic encounters with the Holy Spirit. I have seen some people abuse it and make a mockery of God and others who seem to chase the next emotional high moving from conference to conference and church to church. The truth is, my heart was quite hard towards these physical manifestations of what was described as the power of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, about 45 minutes later Bill and Leif turned the corner and entered our section. The moment they entered, the heavy presence of the Spirit fell and His strong anointing began to have some strange effects on both my wife and I. I noticed that my arm started to tremble and a growing expectation began to erupt within me. Now, please understand, I had decided that I was not going down. These guys were smaller than me and I was adament that if they tried to force me to fall or push me I would push back! Well, the moment came. Bill came to me first and ever so gently touched my forehead and instantly this sent a shockwave through my entire body. A second later Leif gently touched the side of my face and instantly a bolt of Spiritual power violently shook me deep within and I was sent flying!!! Poor guy that had to catch me and prevent me from whacking my head on the platform behind me. Once floored I was in tears crying out to God, 'More Lord! God I want more! Come Holy Spirit, give me more, more, more!!!' It was like liquid love flowing through my inner being and affecting every part of my body. I could not get up as the Holy Spirit weighed heavily upon me. He got me real good!!! After about 5-10 minutes I managed to pull myself up and knelt beside the platform and continued to worship Jesus with tears of joy streaming down my face. I then looked to my left and there was my wife also floored and totally overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. She could hardly breathe under the weighty presence of the Spirit. I asked how she was and through the groans and breathlessness she said that her legs and arms were glued to the floor and no matter how hard she tried she could not lift them. I told her to not fight it and simply lie there and rest in His glorious presence. It was about 30 minutes later that she got up and we decided to head home. As we travelled home in our van we could not comprehend what had just happened to us. There were long periods of silence as the glory of God filled our vehicle. Now, if you know my wife, to have long periods of silence is a miracle but she was noticeably deeply affected by this God encounter. All that night and in the days that followed we could not wipe the smiles off our faces. I kept on asking her if she was still blown away and with a cheeky child-like grin said, 'Oh yeah!' I found myself over the next couple of days trying to understand and come to terms with this overwhelming experience. But time and time again God was simply telling me to rest in Him, enjoy Him and not reason it out with my limited human understanding. Speaking with another pastor about this he led me to this verse to help explain why my 'natural person' was struggling with this. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 Paul writes, 'The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.' It is now over a month later and I can still feel the transforming power of the Holy Spirit upon me. My love for His people is deeper. My craving for Him is stronger and more desperate than ever. My ability to see the vision set before us is sharper. I am still enjoying Him immensely and have been set on fire to seek Him with greater fervency. Was this the Baptism in the Holy Spirit? Was it simply a 'filling'? I don't know and I don't want to try and attach a generic label to it. But what I do know is that God's love and presence overwhelmed me and as with any genuine encounter with the living Lord, I did not walk away the same. This is not a once-off encounter. All this has done has awakened within me a relentless hunger for more because if I am ever to be useful to Jesus and His Kingdom's business here on earth I cannot accept powerless Christianity and ministry filled with word yet void of power/deed. This new chapter in my spiritual journey has begun. Thanks for reading and sharing this special moment with me. If you want to hear us speak about our God encounter, then you can listen to it in our Media Library on this website under the 'Special Events' section. The audio file is titled, 'Encounter with the Holy Spirit'. It's been just over a month since my life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit. It was unexpected and I felt ambushed and cornered but ever so thankful! This is what happened...my wife Caroline and I were at the More Conference held at Stairway Church (formerly C3 Whitehorse) in Vermont. We enjoyed two and half days with Pastor Bill Johnson and Evangelist Leif Hetland. The teaching was powerful, as were the testimonies of healing and supernatural breakthrough. We met some amazing people of God and were greatly encouraged by their prophetic insights and prayers. As the last day approached I was quite tired. After the morning session I was ready to go home and miss out on the last session after lunch. After some convincing from my wife we decided to stay. Suddenly they announced that the last session was cancelled and instead Bill and Leif would go around to each person and pray a prayer of impartation and blessing. Sounded interesting. So we eventually lined up, side-by-side, with the other 1100 delegates and with some beautiful worship music playing just soaked ourselves in the presence of God. I watched as some people were falling down, some were standing and soaking in God's presence. Some were singing, some were laughing, some were shaking and some were unmoved. Now, I must make this clear. I've seen this all before and have never been very impressed by it. I never chased these sensations and to be honest I was quite skeptical about whether or not these were authentic encounters with the Holy Spirit. I have seen some people abuse it and make a mockery of God and others who seem to chase the next emotional high moving from conference to conference and church to church. The truth is, my heart was quite hard towards these physical manifestations of what was described as the power of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, about 45 minutes later Bill and Leif turned the corner and entered our section. The moment they entered, the heavy presence of the Spirit fell and His strong anointing began to have some strange effects on both my wife and I. I noticed that my arm started to tremble and a growing expectation began to erupt within me. Now, please understand, I had decided that I was not going down. These guys were smaller than me and I was adament that if they tried to force me to fall or push me I would push back! Well, the moment came. Bill came to me first and ever so gently touched my forehead and instantly this sent a shockwave through my entire body. A second later Leif gently touched the side of my face and instantly a bolt of Spiritual power violently shook me deep within and I was sent flying!!! Poor guy that had to catch me and prevent me from whacking my head on the platform behind me. Once floored I was in tears crying out to God, 'More Lord! God I want more! Come Holy Spirit, give me more, more, more!!!' It was like liquid love flowing through my inner being and affecting every part of my body. I could not get up as the Holy Spirit weighed heavily upon me. He got me real good!!! After about 5-10 minutes I managed to pull myself up and knelt beside the platform and continued to worship Jesus with tears of joy streaming down my face. I then looked to my left and there was my wife also floored and totally overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. She could hardly breathe under the weighty presence of the Spirit. I asked how she was and through the groans and breathlessness she said that her legs and arms were glued to the floor and no matter how hard she tried she could not lift them. I told her to not fight it and simply lie there and rest in His glorious presence. It was about 30 minutes later that she got up and we decided to head home. As we travelled home in our van we could not comprehend what had just happened to us. There were long periods of silence as the glory of God filled our vehicle. Now, if you know my wife, to have long periods of silence is a miracle but she was noticeably deeply affected by this God encounter. All that night and in the days that followed we could not wipe the smiles off our faces. I kept on asking her if she was still blown away and with a cheeky child-like grin said, 'Oh yeah!' I found myself over the next couple of days trying to understand and come to terms with this overwhelming experience. But time and time again God was simply telling me to rest in Him, enjoy Him and not reason it out with my limited human understanding. Speaking with another pastor about this he led me to this verse to help explain why my 'natural person' was struggling with this. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 Paul writes, 'The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.' It is now over a month later and I can still feel the transforming power of the Holy Spirit upon me. My love for His people is deeper. My craving for Him is stronger and more desperate than ever. My ability to see the vision set before us is sharper. I am still enjoying Him immensely and have been set on fire to seek Him with greater fervency. Was this the Baptism in the Holy Spirit? Was it simply a 'filling'? I don't know and I don't want to try and attach a generic label to it. But what I do know is that God's love and presence overwhelmed me and as with any genuine encounter with the living Lord, I did not walk away the same. This is not a once-off encounter. All this has done has awakened within me a relentless hunger for more because if I am ever to be useful to Jesus and His Kingdom's business here on earth I cannot accept powerless Christianity and ministry filled with word yet void of power/deed. This new chapter in my spiritual journey has begun. Thanks for reading and sharing this special moment with me. If you want to hear us speak about our God encounter, then you can listen to it in our Media Library on this website under the 'Special Events' section. The audio file is titled, 'Encounter with the Holy Spirit'. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=27153 27153 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:38:00 +0000 My heart has always burned for revival. Revival that is an expression of our glorious and mighty God's power and authority. Revival that tears open the heavens, shakes the world arond us and literally sweeps up everything and everyone in it's path. I'm talking about a move of the Holy Spirit so shocking, so powerful, so transforming that people can't help but ask, 'What is this! What is happening to me?' When it comes down to the basic heart's desire, what I long for the most is the reality of Christ's Kingdom to come and invade ours. One thing is for sure, when we live under an open heaven, His Kingdom always wins! Some would say that I am dreaming and that to expect such a divine reality here and now is not possible. While the fullness of our heavenly reality will not be experienced and embraced until we cross over into our eternal home, the fact is Jesus Himself speaks of His Kingdom's reality here and now. When Jesus started His preaching ministry He openly declared, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matthew 3:2) Other translations render it as the Kingdom of heaven being near. The Message paraphrase puts it this way, 'Change your life. God's kingdom is here.' To repent is not what we often define it as. We say that repentance is the deep weeping, sorrow and brokenness. That is often a result of repentance but it is not what repentance actually is. The true definition of repentance is to change one's mind. It is a transforming or a shift in thinking resulting in a changed life. So what Jesus was essentially saying was, 'Hey, change your mind and your way of thinking because I am bringing My Kingdom with Me!' When Jesus came He brought the realities, the principles and power of His Kingdom with Him. When He left it didn't take it all back with Him but rather planted it in the hearts of His followers who would then continue to release the Kingdom's power upon the world around them. So the message and display of the Kingdom that Jesus lived out was to be expressed through them. The mission hasn't changed! We too are a part of seeing Christ's Kingdom come here and affect the society and culture around us. When Jesus said that we are to pray, 'Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...', that's exactly what He meant. It is this powerful truth that has birthed a new and deeper expectation for revival in me, my church, my region and nation. Can you imagine what would happen if today's Church, God's very own people, were awakened to the Kingdom's reality here and now? What would our towns, cities and nation look like? Well, I'm courageous enough to step out and see. Starting in October, CityWest Church will begin a fresh season of preaching, teaching and living centred around discovering the reality of God's Kingdom for our lives. The topics involved are so numerous that I am not calling it a new series, but rather a new season of preaching. To be honest, I don't think that even explains what is happening because I have had a major shift in faith and perspective that it will come out in the way I minister and live from now on. In a nutshell what it means is that we are going deeper in our intimacy with God than we ever have, wider in our influence than we ever have, further in our faith than we ever have and bolder in our expectations than we ever have. I am very excited about what we are about to enter into and to see us become naturally supernatural. Please join us on this journey by listening to our weekly sermons provided in our Media Library. Read the blogs which will be a reflection about what is happening and any other resources which we will make available. As the tag-line for the Kingdom Come season states, 'Now Everything Changes'. Don't reject change, embrace it because we owe the world around us an encounter with the living, loving and powerful God. My heart has always burned for revival. Revival that is an expression of our glorious and mighty God's power and authority. Revival that tears open the heavens, shakes the world arond us and literally sweeps up everything and everyone in it's path. I'm talking about a move of the Holy Spirit so shocking, so powerful, so transforming that people can't help but ask, 'What is this! What is happening to me?' When it comes down to the basic heart's desire, what I long for the most is the reality of Christ's Kingdom to come and invade ours. One thing is for sure, when we live under an open heaven, His Kingdom always wins! Some would say that I am dreaming and that to expect such a divine reality here and now is not possible. While the fullness of our heavenly reality will not be experienced and embraced until we cross over into our eternal home, the fact is Jesus Himself speaks of His Kingdom's reality here and now. When Jesus started His preaching ministry He openly declared, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matthew 3:2) Other translations render it as the Kingdom of heaven being near. The Message paraphrase puts it this way, 'Change your life. God's kingdom is here.' To repent is not what we often define it as. We say that repentance is the deep weeping, sorrow and brokenness. That is often a result of repentance but it is not what repentance actually is. The true definition of repentance is to change one's mind. It is a transforming or a shift in thinking resulting in a changed life. So what Jesus was essentially saying was, 'Hey, change your mind and your way of thinking because I am bringing My Kingdom with Me!' When Jesus came He brought the realities, the principles and power of His Kingdom with Him. When He left it didn't take it all back with Him but rather planted it in the hearts of His followers who would then continue to release the Kingdom's power upon the world around them. So the message and display of the Kingdom that Jesus lived out was to be expressed through them. The mission hasn't changed! We too are a part of seeing Christ's Kingdom come here and affect the society and culture around us. When Jesus said that we are to pray, 'Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...', that's exactly what He meant. It is this powerful truth that has birthed a new and deeper expectation for revival in me, my church, my region and nation. Can you imagine what would happen if today's Church, God's very own people, were awakened to the Kingdom's reality here and now? What would our towns, cities and nation look like? Well, I'm courageous enough to step out and see. Starting in October, CityWest Church will begin a fresh season of preaching, teaching and living centred around discovering the reality of God's Kingdom for our lives. The topics involved are so numerous that I am not calling it a new series, but rather a new season of preaching. To be honest, I don't think that even explains what is happening because I have had a major shift in faith and perspective that it will come out in the way I minister and live from now on. In a nutshell what it means is that we are going deeper in our intimacy with God than we ever have, wider in our influence than we ever have, further in our faith than we ever have and bolder in our expectations than we ever have. I am very excited about what we are about to enter into and to see us become naturally supernatural. Please join us on this journey by listening to our weekly sermons provided in our Media Library. Read the blogs which will be a reflection about what is happening and any other resources which we will make available. As the tag-line for the Kingdom Come season states, 'Now Everything Changes'. Don't reject change, embrace it because we owe the world around us an encounter with the living, loving and powerful God. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=26846 26846 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:13:00 +0000 Well, our dear friend Nick Vujicic is spreading his wings again! Not only has God sent him across this world with a message of hope and had him acting in the short film 'Butterfly Circus', but now he has just released his first music video! I was thrilled and deeply moved by this song, it's message and the obvious anointing God has placed on this song and all involved. Well done Nick and keep on reaching for more!!! Here is the music video for your enjoyment and blessing: Thanks bro for your heart and willingness to touch this world with the love of our Saviour Jesus. Well, our dear friend Nick Vujicic is spreading his wings again! Not only has God sent him across this world with a message of hope and had him acting in the short film 'Butterfly Circus', but now he has just released his first music video! I was thrilled and deeply moved by this song, it's message and the obvious anointing God has placed on this song and all involved. Well done Nick and keep on reaching for more!!! Here is the music video for your enjoyment and blessing: Thanks bro for your heart and willingness to touch this world with the love of our Saviour Jesus. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=26390 26390 Thu, 1 Sep 2011 04:20:00 +0000 There are many methods, strategies and styles of reaching out to those far from God. Some are complex and require you to attend a lengthy seminar to attain the skills you need and some are so theologically deep that you need a seminary degree to make any sense of it. But what really works? Are we any better at reaching those that normally would not consider coming to Church or even Jesus for that matter? For years I have searched for a program or course that would best equip us to be highly effective in reaching the thousands of lost souls around us. But the more I press in to God and seek His face I hear Him say, 'It's not complicated. I have it all laid out in my Word and I have given my people all they need to see the lost come to Jesus.' Have we made it complicated and so illusive that we have Christians discouraged because they are not the 'evangelist' type? In Donald S. Whitney's book titled 'Simplify Your Spiritual Life', he touches on a principle that is not unfamiliar to us or even that spectacular, but it could just be the simple approach we have been missing. Read this excerpt and be encouraged to see how simple it really can be… Ask People How You Can Pray for Them - By Donald S. Whitney Over and over I've seen one simple question open people's hearts to hear the gospel. Until I asked this question, they showed no interest in spiritual matters. But then after six words—only seventeen letters in English—I've seen people suddenly begin to weep and their resistance fall. The question is, 'How can I pray for you?' This may not seem like such a powerful question to you. Perhaps that's because you hear it, or a question like it, quite often. Your Bible study group or your church prayer meeting asks for prayer requests every week. You may even see requests for prayer solicited each Sunday morning in the worship bulletin. But realize that most people in the world never hear such a question. And while many churchgoers know that a minister is willing to pray for them, in some traditions they're expected to make a special donation to the church for such services. So when you ask, 'How can I pray for you?' and it's obvious that you're asking out of love alone, it can touch a person more deeply than you imagine. This question is similar to one that Jesus Himself sometimes asked: 'What do you want me to do for you?' (Matthew 20:32). For what we are really asking is, 'What do you want me to ask Jesus to do for you?' And by means of this question, we can show the love of Christ to people and open hearts previously closed to the gospel. I had tried to talk about the things of God many times to a business-hardened, retired executive who lived next door. He was a pro at hiding his feelings and keeping conversations at a superficial level. But the day we stood between our homes and I asked, 'How can I pray for you?' his eyes filled with tears as his façade of self-sufficiency melted. For the first time in seven years he let me speak with him about Jesus. It's a short, easily remembered question. You can use it with longtime friends or with people you've just met. It doesn't seem too personal or pushy for those who'd rather give you a shallow answer just now, and yet it often leads to a full hearing of the gospel. You can ask it of people nearly every time you speak with them and it doesn't get old. Just simply and sincerely ask, 'How can I pray for you?' You'll be surprised at the results. It almost seems too simple doesn't it? Yet Donald touches on a vital element of our Christianity and that's to see Jesus' Kingdom reality become ours. It is the fulfilment of how Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10, 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' One thing is for sure, when Jesus' superior Kingdom reality collides with ours, His wins every time. We can literally see God's reality invading ours and as a result people are transformed and drawn into His love. But notice how simple that can actually be. Could those words 'How can I pray for you?' be the open door to Heaven's reality invading ours? Imagine the lives that can be transformed when we are willing to be awakened by God's simple truths. Imagine the people we can reach with the powerful presence of Christ's Kingdom as we ask how we can pray for them and how Jesus can help them. It really does open it up to endless miracles and breathtaking demonstrations of God's reality invading ours. OH! Bring it on!!! There are many methods, strategies and styles of reaching out to those far from God. Some are complex and require you to attend a lengthy seminar to attain the skills you need and some are so theologically deep that you need a seminary degree to make any sense of it. But what really works? Are we any better at reaching those that normally would not consider coming to Church or even Jesus for that matter? For years I have searched for a program or course that would best equip us to be highly effective in reaching the thousands of lost souls around us. But the more I press in to God and seek His face I hear Him say, 'It's not complicated. I have it all laid out in my Word and I have given my people all they need to see the lost come to Jesus.' Have we made it complicated and so illusive that we have Christians discouraged because they are not the 'evangelist' type? In Donald S. Whitney's book titled 'Simplify Your Spiritual Life', he touches on a principle that is not unfamiliar to us or even that spectacular, but it could just be the simple approach we have been missing. Read this excerpt and be encouraged to see how simple it really can be… Ask People How You Can Pray for Them - By Donald S. Whitney Over and over I've seen one simple question open people's hearts to hear the gospel. Until I asked this question, they showed no interest in spiritual matters. But then after six words—only seventeen letters in English—I've seen people suddenly begin to weep and their resistance fall. The question is, 'How can I pray for you?' This may not seem like such a powerful question to you. Perhaps that's because you hear it, or a question like it, quite often. Your Bible study group or your church prayer meeting asks for prayer requests every week. You may even see requests for prayer solicited each Sunday morning in the worship bulletin. But realize that most people in the world never hear such a question. And while many churchgoers know that a minister is willing to pray for them, in some traditions they're expected to make a special donation to the church for such services. So when you ask, 'How can I pray for you?' and it's obvious that you're asking out of love alone, it can touch a person more deeply than you imagine. This question is similar to one that Jesus Himself sometimes asked: 'What do you want me to do for you?' (Matthew 20:32). For what we are really asking is, 'What do you want me to ask Jesus to do for you?' And by means of this question, we can show the love of Christ to people and open hearts previously closed to the gospel. I had tried to talk about the things of God many times to a business-hardened, retired executive who lived next door. He was a pro at hiding his feelings and keeping conversations at a superficial level. But the day we stood between our homes and I asked, 'How can I pray for you?' his eyes filled with tears as his façade of self-sufficiency melted. For the first time in seven years he let me speak with him about Jesus. It's a short, easily remembered question. You can use it with longtime friends or with people you've just met. It doesn't seem too personal or pushy for those who'd rather give you a shallow answer just now, and yet it often leads to a full hearing of the gospel. You can ask it of people nearly every time you speak with them and it doesn't get old. Just simply and sincerely ask, 'How can I pray for you?' You'll be surprised at the results. It almost seems too simple doesn't it? Yet Donald touches on a vital element of our Christianity and that's to see Jesus' Kingdom reality become ours. It is the fulfilment of how Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10, 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' One thing is for sure, when Jesus' superior Kingdom reality collides with ours, His wins every time. We can literally see God's reality invading ours and as a result people are transformed and drawn into His love. But notice how simple that can actually be. Could those words 'How can I pray for you?' be the open door to Heaven's reality invading ours? Imagine the lives that can be transformed when we are willing to be awakened by God's simple truths. Imagine the people we can reach with the powerful presence of Christ's Kingdom as we ask how we can pray for them and how Jesus can help them. It really does open it up to endless miracles and breathtaking demonstrations of God's reality invading ours. OH! Bring it on!!! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=26199 26199 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:32:00 +0000 We are a people of convenience. Our whole culture has been built around making things easy, accessible, comfortable and trouble-free. We love it. We demand it. We expect it. We want quick and easy service through the McDonald's drive-thru and complain when we're asked to park in the waiting-bay because that is just inconvenient and is a real bother. I thought it was called fast food! We behave the same at banks, at traffic lights, at the supermarket and on the phone waiting for the next available customer service operator. It seems that everything we do these days demands convenience and uncomplicated service. If we don't get it we are quick to complain and make sure people know our dissatisfaction. How dare they right? The problem then arises when we approach our Christian faith with the same set of expectations and demands. We carry this same attitude into the Church and then wonder why there is no Church that gives us what we want. As a result many hop from Church to Church looking for the most comfortable, easiest, convenient and least demanding environment so that we won't be bothered and expected to give of ourselves. After-all don't they know it's all about me? During the years I have met countless Christians where convenience is the major focus of their commitment to the Church body and to Christ Himself. Anytime a great call for higher living or a deeper commitment is given they look around for the nearest exit never to return again. I guess by now you can tell that I have a serious holy discontent with this issue! I tend to take Jesus' words literally and when it comes to His call to holiness and radical commitment, I still think He means what He says and says what He means. Jesus was never vague about what He expected from His followers and He continues that through to us. Remember when He said that we are to deny ourselves? What about when He said that to follow Him includes taking up your cross, which means that dying to self and identifying with Jesus' death is expected? I am sure you can't forget when Jesus said that loyalty to Him must come before that shown towards family. What about the classic when He said that we are to share in His sufferings? It doesn't help when people like the Apostle Paul take it seriously and then show that it is possible. Remember Paul's memorable declaration that he has been crucified with Christ and that he no longer lives but Christ now lives in him? C'mon, there is nothing convenient about any of that! That type of Christian life contradicts what the majority of preachers today promote. Instead we hear that the blessings and abundant favour of God is our right and we are to demand it. We hear that to be prosperous is a sign of our holiness. We are told that we are royalty and above the troubles of this life. We are encouraged to always smile and keep on declaring that we are 'more than conquerors!' We are taught to demand that satan comes under our feet and expect everything around us to come into submission because after-all we have divine authority to shape the life we want. We avoid suffering, repentance, humility, brokenness, travailing prayer, intercession, tears, sorrow and a contrite heart. We don't dare admit that we struggle and we are pressured to put on a brave face with a smile and walk in faith. While much of what I just wrote can have Scriptural support, and to some extent I do believe it, but it is the heart attitude with which we demand such things that is a curse upon our contemporary Christianity. I don't have a problem with prosperous Christians that understand WHY they have been given much. I don't have an issue with declaring faith for supernatural breakthrough because it immitates Christ and trusts in His greatness, but how and why it is done troubles me deeply. I don't have a problem expecting God's blessings and favour, hey, our Father loves us why wouldn't He, but it has become so self-centred that we are becoming spiritual fat cats always receiving yet rarely giving. I'll never forget when I first heard a pastor preach about his personal struggles, bouts of depression and constant fight against discouragement. He shared that his faith is not always strong and he too suffers from doubts. He gave us an insight into how he questions his calling often and finds it hard to stand under the relentless attacks from our ruthless enemy. He spoke of how God tested him with fire and how he wondered if God really cared. He then honestly spoke of the moments when God came through and how much it meant to him and how precious God's grace had really become. What I appreciated most was the real life observation that to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and honestly is to live a very inconvenient and self-sacrificial life. There is nothing glamorous about it. Self-denial is hard and takes years to come to terms with. Our sinful flesh constantly screams against the demands of the gospel. When we are awakened to the true nature of our Christian faith it then opens us up to the abundance of Jesus' grace, mercy and love. You come to Him empty and free from your selfish demands and wants. You come to Jesus searching for meaning instead of always blessing. You come to Him desperate to be made holy and stop chasing the delusion of false happiness. You discover a joy unspeakable, one that is not affected by external circumstances and wavering emotions. You find that Jesus' standards are high but His power is sufficient. Self slowly dies and your spiritual nature rises to rule. So when it comes down to it I really want you to know that Convenient Christianity is a cheap imitation of the real thing. Don't settle for it. Read the Bible and see the life Jesus promises and then honestly compare it to life you are living and being taught. Don't take my word for it, let God's Word show you. We are a people of convenience. Our whole culture has been built around making things easy, accessible, comfortable and trouble-free. We love it. We demand it. We expect it. We want quick and easy service through the McDonald's drive-thru and complain when we're asked to park in the waiting-bay because that is just inconvenient and is a real bother. I thought it was called fast food! We behave the same at banks, at traffic lights, at the supermarket and on the phone waiting for the next available customer service operator. It seems that everything we do these days demands convenience and uncomplicated service. If we don't get it we are quick to complain and make sure people know our dissatisfaction. How dare they right? The problem then arises when we approach our Christian faith with the same set of expectations and demands. We carry this same attitude into the Church and then wonder why there is no Church that gives us what we want. As a result many hop from Church to Church looking for the most comfortable, easiest, convenient and least demanding environment so that we won't be bothered and expected to give of ourselves. After-all don't they know it's all about me? During the years I have met countless Christians where convenience is the major focus of their commitment to the Church body and to Christ Himself. Anytime a great call for higher living or a deeper commitment is given they look around for the nearest exit never to return again. I guess by now you can tell that I have a serious holy discontent with this issue! I tend to take Jesus' words literally and when it comes to His call to holiness and radical commitment, I still think He means what He says and says what He means. Jesus was never vague about what He expected from His followers and He continues that through to us. Remember when He said that we are to deny ourselves? What about when He said that to follow Him includes taking up your cross, which means that dying to self and identifying with Jesus' death is expected? I am sure you can't forget when Jesus said that loyalty to Him must come before that shown towards family. What about the classic when He said that we are to share in His sufferings? It doesn't help when people like the Apostle Paul take it seriously and then show that it is possible. Remember Paul's memorable declaration that he has been crucified with Christ and that he no longer lives but Christ now lives in him? C'mon, there is nothing convenient about any of that! That type of Christian life contradicts what the majority of preachers today promote. Instead we hear that the blessings and abundant favour of God is our right and we are to demand it. We hear that to be prosperous is a sign of our holiness. We are told that we are royalty and above the troubles of this life. We are encouraged to always smile and keep on declaring that we are 'more than conquerors!' We are taught to demand that satan comes under our feet and expect everything around us to come into submission because after-all we have divine authority to shape the life we want. We avoid suffering, repentance, humility, brokenness, travailing prayer, intercession, tears, sorrow and a contrite heart. We don't dare admit that we struggle and we are pressured to put on a brave face with a smile and walk in faith. While much of what I just wrote can have Scriptural support, and to some extent I do believe it, but it is the heart attitude with which we demand such things that is a curse upon our contemporary Christianity. I don't have a problem with prosperous Christians that understand WHY they have been given much. I don't have an issue with declaring faith for supernatural breakthrough because it immitates Christ and trusts in His greatness, but how and why it is done troubles me deeply. I don't have a problem expecting God's blessings and favour, hey, our Father loves us why wouldn't He, but it has become so self-centred that we are becoming spiritual fat cats always receiving yet rarely giving. I'll never forget when I first heard a pastor preach about his personal struggles, bouts of depression and constant fight against discouragement. He shared that his faith is not always strong and he too suffers from doubts. He gave us an insight into how he questions his calling often and finds it hard to stand under the relentless attacks from our ruthless enemy. He spoke of how God tested him with fire and how he wondered if God really cared. He then honestly spoke of the moments when God came through and how much it meant to him and how precious God's grace had really become. What I appreciated most was the real life observation that to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and honestly is to live a very inconvenient and self-sacrificial life. There is nothing glamorous about it. Self-denial is hard and takes years to come to terms with. Our sinful flesh constantly screams against the demands of the gospel. When we are awakened to the true nature of our Christian faith it then opens us up to the abundance of Jesus' grace, mercy and love. You come to Him empty and free from your selfish demands and wants. You come to Jesus searching for meaning instead of always blessing. You come to Him desperate to be made holy and stop chasing the delusion of false happiness. You discover a joy unspeakable, one that is not affected by external circumstances and wavering emotions. You find that Jesus' standards are high but His power is sufficient. Self slowly dies and your spiritual nature rises to rule. So when it comes down to it I really want you to know that Convenient Christianity is a cheap imitation of the real thing. Don't settle for it. Read the Bible and see the life Jesus promises and then honestly compare it to life you are living and being taught. Don't take my word for it, let God's Word show you. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=25670 25670 Mon, 8 Aug 2011 23:20:00 +0000 As I draw nearer to God I start viewing the Bible from a renewed and different set of eyes. As a matter of fact, even my approach to life has shifted. My perspective on various issues and topics have also changed as God deepens my understanding. Things that I once purposefully avoided I am now beginning to see from a different angle. This is especially true of suffering. The topic of suffering has been a cause for much debate and questioning throughout the ages. Your typical argument will go something like this, 'If God is love, then why does He allow His people to suffer and endure horrific pain and some even killed for their faith in Jesus?' Sadly, this is often asked by those within the Church! Our 'name-it-and-claim-it' mentality is in great conflict with this. In this perverted era of prosperity preaching that is polluting the ears of ignorant believers, we are seeing a rapid hatred for suffering of any kind. We avoid it at all costs and actually believe the lie that if we suffer then that means that God is angry at us and is paying us back for our sin. Hang on…didn't Jesus take care of that on the cross? Anyway, what this has done is create a weak, shallow and pansy Church that is powerless to stand against any attack or form persecution. Instead, today's Church chases prosperity, blessings, favour and happiness because, after-all, Jesus died to make me rich, influential and comfortable right? Since when did Jesus say that His brutal torture, His horrifc wounds and His violent death was given to us so that we can have wealth and comfort? As a matter of fact Jesus says in John 15:20 (ESV), 'Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.' How can we justify living in prosperity and over-flowing greeds when we worship a homeless, humble Servant? What makes us think that we will avoid ridicule, persecution, opposition and suffering if Jesus Himself was bombarded with it? Has His confronting Gospel message changed that we are shocked when we are judged and treated disrespectfully because we follow Jesus? At this point let me add this...Enduring and thriving through suffering is actually God's secret weapon to grow and expand His Church and strengthen and mature His people. What satan thinks will destroy it actually serves to empower it! A casual read of the Book of Acts can prove this. I think it is wise to clarify what type of suffering Jesus prepares us for. This came to my attention awhile ago as a guy from Church approached me seeking to clarify what I meant by suffering for Jesus. Here is his e-mail inrelation to our conversation... 'We should be willing to suffer for the name of Jesus. This does not mean we should just suffer in everything we do – that is not a martyr-mindset that is a defeated mindset. We need to be wise in discerning what it is to suffer for Christ. There are too many that suffer for the sake of suffering and claim that God's hand is in their suffering. 'Some have a hard week and struggle to get through and say they are suffering for Christ yet none of this brings any glory to Christ. To suffer with Christ is to find yourself in conflict or opposition because of your belief or your stance in Christ . The enemy delights in fooling the church into believing that all suffering and turmoil in their life is a test from God, they are suffering for God so that means they should just put up with it. 'Nothing could be further from the truth and the enemy uses this to rob the church of it's effectiveness and take the attention off himself so that Christians the world over will just accept the things he throws at them because they are deceived into thinking this is how it is supposed to be.' I think that is a great insight. In other words, suffering for Jesus is in direct relation to any opposition, persecution and threats as a result of your faith and position in Christ. Simply suffering because your husband doesn't listen to you, or your sins have given you consequences that you don't want, or even you are dealing with lung cancer because of years of smoking, this does not mean that you are carrying your cross and enduring hardship because you're a Christian. No! The suffering that God honours and gives supernatural strength to overcome is the suffering that comes with your undying and solid stand for Jesus. These 'suffering Christians' are the best of the best. They live sold-out to Jesus and know what it means to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. Suffering is simply what can happen to them as they live surrendered to God. It is not pursued or even desired, but if it comes, so be it and they will suffer well and still glorify God because of who they are in Jesus. The persecuted Christians around the world understand this so well. They are threatened with death daily for simply gathering to worship Jesus. They are imprisoned, tortured, and killed, not because they are bad people, but because their government bans any Christian expression. These are the suffering servants that glorify God in their sacrifice. These are the real hereos of our faith. That's why the Apostle Paul, who was well acquainted with suffering, urged the young Pastor Timothy, 'Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.' (2 Timothy 2:3 ESV) Paul didn't say to avoid it, dispise it or reject it…no, share in it. In other words, don't be ashamed to suffer for Jesus' sake because you represent Him. Therefore as soldiers for Christ Jesus we are to be prepared to suffer if it should come and that's why Rob Cartledge urges us to take on a martyrdom-attitude in his great book Taking Up Your Cross (read it for an in-depth insight into this topic). Prepared, no matter what comes, I will never deny my Jesus! The Apostle Peter takes it a step further. In 1 Peter 4:13 (ESV) he writes, 'But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.' What the? Rejoice? Is he for real? You see, Peter understood that to deny yourself even to the point of seeing suffering as a means to share in what Jesus endured, is an expression of love and devotion unlike anything this world could ever give. It looks beyond the moment of pain and waits for the moment of glory with Jesus. Countless martyrs were quoted as saying that they truly experienced God in the midst of suffering and persecution for Jesus. Their joy was revealed and their God was close. As Pastor Sze, a house-church pastor in China who was imprisoned for his faith once said, 'Before prison we heard about God. But in prison we experienced God.' The reason I have blogged about this is because I want to prepare the Church to suffer well. Not suffer for the sake of suffering or think that we are heroes if we walk around with a long face so others can marvel at how humble we appear. But should it ever come to the Church and we are being persecuted and our faith being held in question, then we will be prepared, willing and strong to not denounce Jesus but rather stand firm knowing that to suffer for His sake is a powerful expression of worship to the King. Paul ends it best, 'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.' (Romans 8:18 ESV) Should you ever suffer for being a follower of Jesus, hold on, stand firm and stay true because the glory of God is being revealed. As I draw nearer to God I start viewing the Bible from a renewed and different set of eyes. As a matter of fact, even my approach to life has shifted. My perspective on various issues and topics have also changed as God deepens my understanding. Things that I once purposefully avoided I am now beginning to see from a different angle. This is especially true of suffering. The topic of suffering has been a cause for much debate and questioning throughout the ages. Your typical argument will go something like this, 'If God is love, then why does He allow His people to suffer and endure horrific pain and some even killed for their faith in Jesus?' Sadly, this is often asked by those within the Church! Our 'name-it-and-claim-it' mentality is in great conflict with this. In this perverted era of prosperity preaching that is polluting the ears of ignorant believers, we are seeing a rapid hatred for suffering of any kind. We avoid it at all costs and actually believe the lie that if we suffer then that means that God is angry at us and is paying us back for our sin. Hang on…didn't Jesus take care of that on the cross? Anyway, what this has done is create a weak, shallow and pansy Church that is powerless to stand against any attack or form persecution. Instead, today's Church chases prosperity, blessings, favour and happiness because, after-all, Jesus died to make me rich, influential and comfortable right? Since when did Jesus say that His brutal torture, His horrifc wounds and His violent death was given to us so that we can have wealth and comfort? As a matter of fact Jesus says in John 15:20 (ESV), 'Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.' How can we justify living in prosperity and over-flowing greeds when we worship a homeless, humble Servant? What makes us think that we will avoid ridicule, persecution, opposition and suffering if Jesus Himself was bombarded with it? Has His confronting Gospel message changed that we are shocked when we are judged and treated disrespectfully because we follow Jesus? At this point let me add this...Enduring and thriving through suffering is actually God's secret weapon to grow and expand His Church and strengthen and mature His people. What satan thinks will destroy it actually serves to empower it! A casual read of the Book of Acts can prove this. I think it is wise to clarify what type of suffering Jesus prepares us for. This came to my attention awhile ago as a guy from Church approached me seeking to clarify what I meant by suffering for Jesus. Here is his e-mail inrelation to our conversation... 'We should be willing to suffer for the name of Jesus. This does not mean we should just suffer in everything we do – that is not a martyr-mindset that is a defeated mindset. We need to be wise in discerning what it is to suffer for Christ. There are too many that suffer for the sake of suffering and claim that God's hand is in their suffering. 'Some have a hard week and struggle to get through and say they are suffering for Christ yet none of this brings any glory to Christ. To suffer with Christ is to find yourself in conflict or opposition because of your belief or your stance in Christ . The enemy delights in fooling the church into believing that all suffering and turmoil in their life is a test from God, they are suffering for God so that means they should just put up with it. 'Nothing could be further from the truth and the enemy uses this to rob the church of it's effectiveness and take the attention off himself so that Christians the world over will just accept the things he throws at them because they are deceived into thinking this is how it is supposed to be.' I think that is a great insight. In other words, suffering for Jesus is in direct relation to any opposition, persecution and threats as a result of your faith and position in Christ. Simply suffering because your husband doesn't listen to you, or your sins have given you consequences that you don't want, or even you are dealing with lung cancer because of years of smoking, this does not mean that you are carrying your cross and enduring hardship because you're a Christian. No! The suffering that God honours and gives supernatural strength to overcome is the suffering that comes with your undying and solid stand for Jesus. These 'suffering Christians' are the best of the best. They live sold-out to Jesus and know what it means to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. Suffering is simply what can happen to them as they live surrendered to God. It is not pursued or even desired, but if it comes, so be it and they will suffer well and still glorify God because of who they are in Jesus. The persecuted Christians around the world understand this so well. They are threatened with death daily for simply gathering to worship Jesus. They are imprisoned, tortured, and killed, not because they are bad people, but because their government bans any Christian expression. These are the suffering servants that glorify God in their sacrifice. These are the real hereos of our faith. That's why the Apostle Paul, who was well acquainted with suffering, urged the young Pastor Timothy, 'Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.' (2 Timothy 2:3 ESV) Paul didn't say to avoid it, dispise it or reject it…no, share in it. In other words, don't be ashamed to suffer for Jesus' sake because you represent Him. Therefore as soldiers for Christ Jesus we are to be prepared to suffer if it should come and that's why Rob Cartledge urges us to take on a martyrdom-attitude in his great book Taking Up Your Cross (read it for an in-depth insight into this topic). Prepared, no matter what comes, I will never deny my Jesus! The Apostle Peter takes it a step further. In 1 Peter 4:13 (ESV) he writes, 'But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.' What the? Rejoice? Is he for real? You see, Peter understood that to deny yourself even to the point of seeing suffering as a means to share in what Jesus endured, is an expression of love and devotion unlike anything this world could ever give. It looks beyond the moment of pain and waits for the moment of glory with Jesus. Countless martyrs were quoted as saying that they truly experienced God in the midst of suffering and persecution for Jesus. Their joy was revealed and their God was close. As Pastor Sze, a house-church pastor in China who was imprisoned for his faith once said, 'Before prison we heard about God. But in prison we experienced God.' The reason I have blogged about this is because I want to prepare the Church to suffer well. Not suffer for the sake of suffering or think that we are heroes if we walk around with a long face so others can marvel at how humble we appear. But should it ever come to the Church and we are being persecuted and our faith being held in question, then we will be prepared, willing and strong to not denounce Jesus but rather stand firm knowing that to suffer for His sake is a powerful expression of worship to the King. Paul ends it best, 'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.' (Romans 8:18 ESV) Should you ever suffer for being a follower of Jesus, hold on, stand firm and stay true because the glory of God is being revealed. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=25387 25387 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:11:00 +0000 How much freedom does the Holy Spirit have to lead you? Does your need to control your life fight against His will? What about in your church? Is He forced to abide by a strict time frame that you have allotted for Him? Here are some of the questions I have been asking as I have been re-evaulating the Holy Spirit's position in my life and church: Have we managed to create a Church culture that is void of the Holy Spirit's power? Do we depend on Him to see authentic transformation occur or have we simply added more programs, ministries and events? Does the Holy Spirit REALLY have control over our lives, church services, church culture etc? Do our lives have the combination of WORD and DEED (See Romans 15:18-19) or do we tend to have a lot of word but little deed? It must go further than just having good theology. It must go beyond having an answer to every occasion doctrinally and filling our heads with good teaching. What about the power? What about the evidence of God's presence seen through dramatically changed lives and having His manifest power doing what only He can? Bill Johnson once said, 'To fully preach the gospel requires a demonstration of power!' To only have 'word' we then become a group of spiritual fat-heads, who love to talk about what to do, yet never get around to actually doing it. We can fall into this trap of believing that our words of discussion and study actually means we are applying it and living it out. I've met many Christians so full of knowledge yet so empty on power that their words tend to be only theoretical and rarely practical. The most recent one I have come into contact with was the one looking back at me in the mirror. Ouch! On the other-hand, to only have 'deed' we can then become a group of people busy, running around putting on endless events, creating endless activity and thinking that by our chaotic busyness God is well-pleased. This builds a breed of 'Christianity' that chases the next prophet in town, chases the latest move of the Spirit and is always looking for ways to satisfy the hunger for the dramatic and thrilling displays of God's power. They reject any deeper expressions of faith but only chase the excitement and happiness found in witnessing God's supernatural wonders. That's fine and good, but when it becomes about the miracles and not about the One behind them, we become a shallow people only impressed by the entertaining show of signs and miracles. Please don't underestimate the great danger here...we can actually fall into the destructive pursuit of chasing the displays and demonstrations of God's power (i.e. healings, revivals, etc.) and yet totally neglect that it all points to Jesus! Focussing on 'deeds' means we chase the miracle, yet ignore the Miracle-Maker. Remember, every great move of the Spirit seen in breathtaking displays of His glory and power always leads to Christ because He is the ultimate Treasure and the only one capable of the transformation we seek. In the Scripture I referenced earlier, Paul speaks about this essential combination of having both 'word' and 'deed'. Read it carefully, 'For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience - by WORD and DEED, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God...I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.' Notice Paul's power-combination of fulfilling the ministry of the gospel with both word (preaching the gospel) and deed (power of signs and wonders). Not only did Paul believe that the words he spoke had to be confirmed by the evidence of God's power through the miraculous, but so did Jesus. In Luke 9:1-2 Jesus sends out His twelve disciples to minister to the surrounding regions, but notice the description of how this was done, 'And He called the twelve together and gave them POWER and AUTHORITY over all demons and to CURE diseases, and He send them out to PROCLAIM the Kingdom of God and to HEAL.' Further on in verse 6 we read, 'And they departed and went through the villages, PREACHING the gospel and HEALING everywhere.' Do you see it? Word and deed! We later read in Luke 9:11 that Jesus Himself exemplified this method. It says, '...He welcomed them [the crowds of people] and spoke to them of the Kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.' This is too obvious to miss! As I pray this through and seek God for His greater presence and power in my life and church, I want to step out in faith and expect to see both the fruit of the preached Word of God transform lives AND the demonstration of His power to complete the change in people's lives. Sometimes it's WORD first followed or backed up by DEED and at times it is DEED first which then opens people up to WORD. Is see both of these examples in the Bible. So as I close, what do you need to see more of? What area do you see a weakness in your life? Do you need to get more grounded in the solid truth of God's Word or seek God for greater demonstrations of His presence and power in you and through you? Both matter and so do you! How much freedom does the Holy Spirit have to lead you? Does your need to control your life fight against His will? What about in your church? Is He forced to abide by a strict time frame that you have allotted for Him? Here are some of the questions I have been asking as I have been re-evaulating the Holy Spirit's position in my life and church: Have we managed to create a Church culture that is void of the Holy Spirit's power? Do we depend on Him to see authentic transformation occur or have we simply added more programs, ministries and events? Does the Holy Spirit REALLY have control over our lives, church services, church culture etc? Do our lives have the combination of WORD and DEED (See Romans 15:18-19) or do we tend to have a lot of word but little deed? It must go further than just having good theology. It must go beyond having an answer to every occasion doctrinally and filling our heads with good teaching. What about the power? What about the evidence of God's presence seen through dramatically changed lives and having His manifest power doing what only He can? Bill Johnson once said, 'To fully preach the gospel requires a demonstration of power!' To only have 'word' we then become a group of spiritual fat-heads, who love to talk about what to do, yet never get around to actually doing it. We can fall into this trap of believing that our words of discussion and study actually means we are applying it and living it out. I've met many Christians so full of knowledge yet so empty on power that their words tend to be only theoretical and rarely practical. The most recent one I have come into contact with was the one looking back at me in the mirror. Ouch! On the other-hand, to only have 'deed' we can then become a group of people busy, running around putting on endless events, creating endless activity and thinking that by our chaotic busyness God is well-pleased. This builds a breed of 'Christianity' that chases the next prophet in town, chases the latest move of the Spirit and is always looking for ways to satisfy the hunger for the dramatic and thrilling displays of God's power. They reject any deeper expressions of faith but only chase the excitement and happiness found in witnessing God's supernatural wonders. That's fine and good, but when it becomes about the miracles and not about the One behind them, we become a shallow people only impressed by the entertaining show of signs and miracles. Please don't underestimate the great danger here...we can actually fall into the destructive pursuit of chasing the displays and demonstrations of God's power (i.e. healings, revivals, etc.) and yet totally neglect that it all points to Jesus! Focussing on 'deeds' means we chase the miracle, yet ignore the Miracle-Maker. Remember, every great move of the Spirit seen in breathtaking displays of His glory and power always leads to Christ because He is the ultimate Treasure and the only one capable of the transformation we seek. In the Scripture I referenced earlier, Paul speaks about this essential combination of having both 'word' and 'deed'. Read it carefully, 'For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience - by WORD and DEED, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God...I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.' Notice Paul's power-combination of fulfilling the ministry of the gospel with both word (preaching the gospel) and deed (power of signs and wonders). Not only did Paul believe that the words he spoke had to be confirmed by the evidence of God's power through the miraculous, but so did Jesus. In Luke 9:1-2 Jesus sends out His twelve disciples to minister to the surrounding regions, but notice the description of how this was done, 'And He called the twelve together and gave them POWER and AUTHORITY over all demons and to CURE diseases, and He send them out to PROCLAIM the Kingdom of God and to HEAL.' Further on in verse 6 we read, 'And they departed and went through the villages, PREACHING the gospel and HEALING everywhere.' Do you see it? Word and deed! We later read in Luke 9:11 that Jesus Himself exemplified this method. It says, '...He welcomed them [the crowds of people] and spoke to them of the Kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.' This is too obvious to miss! As I pray this through and seek God for His greater presence and power in my life and church, I want to step out in faith and expect to see both the fruit of the preached Word of God transform lives AND the demonstration of His power to complete the change in people's lives. Sometimes it's WORD first followed or backed up by DEED and at times it is DEED first which then opens people up to WORD. Is see both of these examples in the Bible. So as I close, what do you need to see more of? What area do you see a weakness in your life? Do you need to get more grounded in the solid truth of God's Word or seek God for greater demonstrations of His presence and power in you and through you? Both matter and so do you! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=25189 25189 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:31:00 +0000 I have been recently reading and soaking myself in the ministry of Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. The reason for this is that my search for more of the Holy Spirit's Person, presence and power has led me to a current-day example of someone who has a strong grip on this essential truth and who also has had amazing encounters of God's greatness. Bill's book 'When Heaven Invades Earth' has been instrumental in helping shape my understanding of the Spirit-filled life and has enlarged my faith to expect more! It really is a wonderful companion to my study and preaching on the Book of Acts. What better way to see how the example of Acts can play out in our cultural context and era. I highly recommend this book, along with the many sermons you can download from Bill's ministry site found here. In my browsing of websites and information on Bill Johnson's ministry I stumbled across this great blog post by Andy Robinson who has been thinking exactly along the same lines that I have. So to save myself time and not having to repeat his words, below is his blog post along with various edits and insights from myself. I hope it helps you... Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, are seeing what can only be described as amazing and outstanding miracles. What excites me about what I read in books like 'When Heaven Invades Earth'...is that the culture of the church in Bethel is one that demonstrates the love and power of God not merely in the confines of the church, but outside too. Whilst some, myself included on occasion, find the outworking of this teaching in some people produces things I find uncomfortable and distrubing I have become convinced recently that 'I should fear lukewarmness far more than I do radicalism (Stef Liston)' . I genuinely believe that the church, and therefore us as those who make up the church, need to be far more radical than the sedimentary culture we have come to accept as 'normal church life' currently dictates. I am convinced that there is more to a Holy Spirit-filled life than I currently know or may have experienced personally. I long to experience the tangible presence of God not simply in church (which I deeply desire) but in everything I do. I want to recognise the Holy Spirits presence in every action and learn to hear His voice and follow His lead even as I walk to the coffee shop. Will He speak to me every time? I don't know to be honest, but I do know that if I don't listen or if I have no expectation that He might, then I will never hear Him even if He did! Some have asked me 'do you agree with everything Bill Johnson says' and my honest answer is 'No, I don't, any more than I agree with everything Mark Driscoll or John Piper says' (both big hero's of mine). I long for the preaching and communication skills of Mark Driscoll...and I desire to study and understand the scriptures like John Piper. Would I build church like Driscoll? No, not entirely because, by way of example, whilst he is not a cessationist theologically, he is one in the practise of his church meetings and I would want and expect to see the Holy Spirit gifts operating in and through the congregation in our meetings. John Piper and I would differ in terms of how we perceive the 'expectation for healing today' as I beleive that we should pray for the sick and expect them to be healed and that this is not something where we simply see glimpses of today or should wait for the fullness of it upon Jesus return. (And I submit these differences very humbly and not saying that are factually correct, but are just my perceptions at this time). So 'do I agree with everything Bill Johnson says', No I don't… but he is seeing something of the power of the Holy Spirit that I am, thus far, not seeing and I would be foolish to reject it simply because there are some areas of theological difference. As another pastor friend of mine recently said 'We must learn to be discerning. How about following a biblical model like the Bereans of Acts 17:11 who are definitely among 'the early church'. When they heard Paul's teaching they examined the scriptures daily to see if these things were true.' Bethel Church are seeing cancer healed, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing as they proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are these miracles necessarily a reflection of their theology? Possibly not. Is their theology a reflection of their experience of the Holy Spirit? Maybe. Do miracles validate their theology? No I don't believe so, but it does validate the grace of God! All I can say is that the New Testament clearly teaches that the power of God is demonstrated through the working of the Holy Spirit in signs and wonders and this is something I long for but am not yet seeing in my own life and ministry. So I guess I want it all, to know scripture like Piper, preach like Driscoll and demonstrate and know the power and kingdom of God like Johnson but most importantly to know it personally… a high expectation maybe but impossible? Why should it be? So it is my desire is to see more of the demonstrated power of God, to experience personally the power and presence of God more deeply in my own life and to be a conduit for impartation of that power and presence of God through my preaching, my leading, my praying or whatever I do. Right now am I seeing and experiencing that? No, not in any significant or regular measure and certainly not in the way Bill Johnson, for example, is seeing it. I am therefore continually searching the scriptures and prayerfully asking God for a greater measure of his Holy Spirit and a deeper experience of his presence. Is this the final objective? No, of course not. I live to worship him, my objective is always His glory. However as John Piper would say 'God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him' and so if my goal is His glory then as Psalm 16:11 tells us 'in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore' I can seek pleasure in him and find fullness of Joy in His presence. It is His presence that I find the satisfaction that most satisfies me and most glorifies Him. I long to experience the Holy Spirit manifesting the presence of God and to see and experience the power of the Holy Spirit over sickness and much more besides. This is why I read the Bible and books by Piper, Johnson, Driscoll and many others. I look to many different people, in many different church and denominational streams in order to gain the elements of knowledge, wisdom and revelation that God has, in his grace, made known to them. I believe that God, in His wisdom, has not given His whole revelation to one man, or one denomination, but it is 'through the church (the universal church) the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known' (Eph 3.10). No-one has a monopoly on the revelation of God. As Don Smith from NewFrontiers very famously said 'Get milk from lots of cows, but churn your own butter'! ...I am not throwing my theological convictions out the window nor will I cease to be discerning, but I am looking to add to my knowledge and experience something from those who are clearly experiencing something in God that, as yet, I am not! So as I close this post I strongly encourage you to read and listen to Bill Johnson's ministry because it is packed with valuable and transforming wisdom, all grounded in the Word of God. His vision for the Church of Power is truly breathtaking and it really fires me up to pursue Christ harder and with more intensity. Bill's hunger for more of God will rub off on you and expose you to a life of faith that is beyond what many experience or even know is available. Don't settle for anything less than the fullness of God's presence and the flow of His power in and through you. Jesus wants to see you and I live in the 'greater works' expression of His love and see a world drawn to Him through earth-shaking displays of His glory and power. I have been recently reading and soaking myself in the ministry of Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. The reason for this is that my search for more of the Holy Spirit's Person, presence and power has led me to a current-day example of someone who has a strong grip on this essential truth and who also has had amazing encounters of God's greatness. Bill's book 'When Heaven Invades Earth' has been instrumental in helping shape my understanding of the Spirit-filled life and has enlarged my faith to expect more! It really is a wonderful companion to my study and preaching on the Book of Acts. What better way to see how the example of Acts can play out in our cultural context and era. I highly recommend this book, along with the many sermons you can download from Bill's ministry site found here. In my browsing of websites and information on Bill Johnson's ministry I stumbled across this great blog post by Andy Robinson who has been thinking exactly along the same lines that I have. So to save myself time and not having to repeat his words, below is his blog post along with various edits and insights from myself. I hope it helps you... Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, are seeing what can only be described as amazing and outstanding miracles. What excites me about what I read in books like 'When Heaven Invades Earth'...is that the culture of the church in Bethel is one that demonstrates the love and power of God not merely in the confines of the church, but outside too. Whilst some, myself included on occasion, find the outworking of this teaching in some people produces things I find uncomfortable and distrubing I have become convinced recently that 'I should fear lukewarmness far more than I do radicalism (Stef Liston)' . I genuinely believe that the church, and therefore us as those who make up the church, need to be far more radical than the sedimentary culture we have come to accept as 'normal church life' currently dictates. I am convinced that there is more to a Holy Spirit-filled life than I currently know or may have experienced personally. I long to experience the tangible presence of God not simply in church (which I deeply desire) but in everything I do. I want to recognise the Holy Spirits presence in every action and learn to hear His voice and follow His lead even as I walk to the coffee shop. Will He speak to me every time? I don't know to be honest, but I do know that if I don't listen or if I have no expectation that He might, then I will never hear Him even if He did! Some have asked me 'do you agree with everything Bill Johnson says' and my honest answer is 'No, I don't, any more than I agree with everything Mark Driscoll or John Piper says' (both big hero's of mine). I long for the preaching and communication skills of Mark Driscoll...and I desire to study and understand the scriptures like John Piper. Would I build church like Driscoll? No, not entirely because, by way of example, whilst he is not a cessationist theologically, he is one in the practise of his church meetings and I would want and expect to see the Holy Spirit gifts operating in and through the congregation in our meetings. John Piper and I would differ in terms of how we perceive the 'expectation for healing today' as I beleive that we should pray for the sick and expect them to be healed and that this is not something where we simply see glimpses of today or should wait for the fullness of it upon Jesus return. (And I submit these differences very humbly and not saying that are factually correct, but are just my perceptions at this time). So 'do I agree with everything Bill Johnson says', No I don't… but he is seeing something of the power of the Holy Spirit that I am, thus far, not seeing and I would be foolish to reject it simply because there are some areas of theological difference. As another pastor friend of mine recently said 'We must learn to be discerning. How about following a biblical model like the Bereans of Acts 17:11 who are definitely among 'the early church'. When they heard Paul's teaching they examined the scriptures daily to see if these things were true.' Bethel Church are seeing cancer healed, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing as they proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are these miracles necessarily a reflection of their theology? Possibly not. Is their theology a reflection of their experience of the Holy Spirit? Maybe. Do miracles validate their theology? No I don't believe so, but it does validate the grace of God! All I can say is that the New Testament clearly teaches that the power of God is demonstrated through the working of the Holy Spirit in signs and wonders and this is something I long for but am not yet seeing in my own life and ministry. So I guess I want it all, to know scripture like Piper, preach like Driscoll and demonstrate and know the power and kingdom of God like Johnson but most importantly to know it personally… a high expectation maybe but impossible? Why should it be? So it is my desire is to see more of the demonstrated power of God, to experience personally the power and presence of God more deeply in my own life and to be a conduit for impartation of that power and presence of God through my preaching, my leading, my praying or whatever I do. Right now am I seeing and experiencing that? No, not in any significant or regular measure and certainly not in the way Bill Johnson, for example, is seeing it. I am therefore continually searching the scriptures and prayerfully asking God for a greater measure of his Holy Spirit and a deeper experience of his presence. Is this the final objective? No, of course not. I live to worship him, my objective is always His glory. However as John Piper would say 'God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him' and so if my goal is His glory then as Psalm 16:11 tells us 'in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore' I can seek pleasure in him and find fullness of Joy in His presence. It is His presence that I find the satisfaction that most satisfies me and most glorifies Him. I long to experience the Holy Spirit manifesting the presence of God and to see and experience the power of the Holy Spirit over sickness and much more besides. This is why I read the Bible and books by Piper, Johnson, Driscoll and many others. I look to many different people, in many different church and denominational streams in order to gain the elements of knowledge, wisdom and revelation that God has, in his grace, made known to them. I believe that God, in His wisdom, has not given His whole revelation to one man, or one denomination, but it is 'through the church (the universal church) the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known' (Eph 3.10). No-one has a monopoly on the revelation of God. As Don Smith from NewFrontiers very famously said 'Get milk from lots of cows, but churn your own butter'! ...I am not throwing my theological convictions out the window nor will I cease to be discerning, but I am looking to add to my knowledge and experience something from those who are clearly experiencing something in God that, as yet, I am not! So as I close this post I strongly encourage you to read and listen to Bill Johnson's ministry because it is packed with valuable and transforming wisdom, all grounded in the Word of God. His vision for the Church of Power is truly breathtaking and it really fires me up to pursue Christ harder and with more intensity. Bill's hunger for more of God will rub off on you and expose you to a life of faith that is beyond what many experience or even know is available. Don't settle for anything less than the fullness of God's presence and the flow of His power in and through you. Jesus wants to see you and I live in the 'greater works' expression of His love and see a world drawn to Him through earth-shaking displays of His glory and power. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=24814 24814 Thu, 7 Jul 2011 02:42:00 +0000 Pastor Ray Ortlund has posted some great blog posts. But this one really caught my attention as it emphasises what I have been on about for a long time. Read it below and then following it I will expand on this issue further: 'Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jnr. Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jnr., our casual response is 'Yeah, that's what I believe.' Jesus Jnr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good. Jesus Jnr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jnr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jnr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us. It is time to tear down Jesus Jnr. It is time to rediscover the real Jesus. Still today, even to us, his invitation stands: 'Come to me' (Matthew 11:28).' Isn't that great! This Jesus Jnr. or as I like to call him mini-jesus, has some strange features. Firstly, he doesn't resemble his Father in Heaven but looks a lot like us. As Ray noted that, '…he is a projection of us.' He speaks like us. He holds our values and convictions. He is silent when we sin and will never confront us. He constantly tells us how great we are and that we don't need to change because we're perfect as we are. Hey, that's an attractive 'jesus' to worship. Secondly, mini-jesus is meek and mild. He is placid, softly spoken and like a baby lamb will never stir controversy. As a matter of fact he blends in to our culture so much that he looks no different than the rest of us. He is like an accessory we attach to an already over-stuffed life and as long as he remains quiet we'll let him tag along. Thirdly, mini-jesus is our genie. We rub the magic bottle and in a puff of smoke and magic dust out comes mini-jesus like a genie bowing to our demands and giving us our hearts desires. So the endless wishes begin, 'I want a new car, a new house, new clothes, new teeth, new hair and a new body. Also, make me popular, filthy rich, full of charisma and ridiculously attractive. To top it off surround me with people that are easy to love, good-looking and who do what I say. And, mini-jesus, if you don't do it by the weekend you're no god at all and I'll go and worship another'. Scary isn't it? But how often is Jesus treated like this? Instead of reverence and awe we give Him apathy and complaints. Instead of following Him with self-denial we expect Him to give us self-esteem and self-confidence. Instead of sacrifice we give excuses. Wow, this is starting to hurt. Pastor Mark Driscoll came to Sydney a couple of years back to hold a one night only preaching engagement entitled, 'Burn Your Plastic Jesus.' He wisely uncovered other types or versions of Jesus we have created to suit ourselves. The emphasis was to burn, destroy and demolish any false Saviours that we've made and turn to the real, biblical Jesus. These mini-jesus' are really idols erected to the glorification of self. This danger is ever before us and as cutesy and fun as it is to play on this theme, the creation of mini-jesus is so dangerous that our very eternity depends on it. The Bible records that many will stand before the Real Jesus one day and say that they did great things for Jesus when the reality is they were worshipping mini-jesus instead. And just as Jesus will say that He never knew them the sad truth is that they never knew Him either (Please read Matthew 7:21-23) Don't gamble your eternity on whether or not the Jesus you worship is the real one or an inferior and fake copy. Work this out now so that it will not be too late. Only one Jesus will stand in the end and He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings and all else will be revealed as empty and worthless. So I've got news for you, mini-jesus is dead, let's give the true JESUS the honour and worship He deserves. Pastor Ray Ortlund has posted some great blog posts. But this one really caught my attention as it emphasises what I have been on about for a long time. Read it below and then following it I will expand on this issue further: 'Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jnr. Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jnr., our casual response is 'Yeah, that's what I believe.' Jesus Jnr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good. Jesus Jnr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jnr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jnr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us. It is time to tear down Jesus Jnr. It is time to rediscover the real Jesus. Still today, even to us, his invitation stands: 'Come to me' (Matthew 11:28).' Isn't that great! This Jesus Jnr. or as I like to call him mini-jesus, has some strange features. Firstly, he doesn't resemble his Father in Heaven but looks a lot like us. As Ray noted that, '…he is a projection of us.' He speaks like us. He holds our values and convictions. He is silent when we sin and will never confront us. He constantly tells us how great we are and that we don't need to change because we're perfect as we are. Hey, that's an attractive 'jesus' to worship. Secondly, mini-jesus is meek and mild. He is placid, softly spoken and like a baby lamb will never stir controversy. As a matter of fact he blends in to our culture so much that he looks no different than the rest of us. He is like an accessory we attach to an already over-stuffed life and as long as he remains quiet we'll let him tag along. Thirdly, mini-jesus is our genie. We rub the magic bottle and in a puff of smoke and magic dust out comes mini-jesus like a genie bowing to our demands and giving us our hearts desires. So the endless wishes begin, 'I want a new car, a new house, new clothes, new teeth, new hair and a new body. Also, make me popular, filthy rich, full of charisma and ridiculously attractive. To top it off surround me with people that are easy to love, good-looking and who do what I say. And, mini-jesus, if you don't do it by the weekend you're no god at all and I'll go and worship another'. Scary isn't it? But how often is Jesus treated like this? Instead of reverence and awe we give Him apathy and complaints. Instead of following Him with self-denial we expect Him to give us self-esteem and self-confidence. Instead of sacrifice we give excuses. Wow, this is starting to hurt. Pastor Mark Driscoll came to Sydney a couple of years back to hold a one night only preaching engagement entitled, 'Burn Your Plastic Jesus.' He wisely uncovered other types or versions of Jesus we have created to suit ourselves. The emphasis was to burn, destroy and demolish any false Saviours that we've made and turn to the real, biblical Jesus. These mini-jesus' are really idols erected to the glorification of self. This danger is ever before us and as cutesy and fun as it is to play on this theme, the creation of mini-jesus is so dangerous that our very eternity depends on it. The Bible records that many will stand before the Real Jesus one day and say that they did great things for Jesus when the reality is they were worshipping mini-jesus instead. And just as Jesus will say that He never knew them the sad truth is that they never knew Him either (Please read Matthew 7:21-23) Don't gamble your eternity on whether or not the Jesus you worship is the real one or an inferior and fake copy. Work this out now so that it will not be too late. Only one Jesus will stand in the end and He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings and all else will be revealed as empty and worthless. So I've got news for you, mini-jesus is dead, let's give the true JESUS the honour and worship He deserves. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=24662 24662 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:22:00 +0000 God has given me a compelling vision of revival that has literally ruined me for anything else! It spurs me on towards the day when God will rend the heavens and come down (Isaiah 64). I am captivated by what our Almighty God can actually do in one day when it would take us years to try and come close to. I am also gripped by the urgency of this issue because today's church has turned to programming, models and strategies of growth to increase our influence and grow our churches instead of passionately praying to God to do what He has done before throughout history and invade our lives and nations with His irresistible love and grace. We need revival more than ever and I fear that if we remain as we are and content with our event-driven Church lives we will sink further than we ever want to go and many more millions will die into a Christ-less eternity. Please don't reject this urgent call to seek God to send His fire of revival to us today so that the world can look at Christ's Church and be attracted to the life found in Jesus and experience the fullness of joy found in the Holy Spirit's presence. We are called to more than what we have now! Please press in and cry out to God for more of who He is amongst us, to step down and invade our churches and nations. We need Him desperately! So please watch this inspiring conversation between some of today's prominent leaders speaking of this need for revival today... Lord, Do It Again! from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo. God has given me a compelling vision of revival that has literally ruined me for anything else! It spurs me on towards the day when God will rend the heavens and come down (Isaiah 64). I am captivated by what our Almighty God can actually do in one day when it would take us years to try and come close to. I am also gripped by the urgency of this issue because today's church has turned to programming, models and strategies of growth to increase our influence and grow our churches instead of passionately praying to God to do what He has done before throughout history and invade our lives and nations with His irresistible love and grace. We need revival more than ever and I fear that if we remain as we are and content with our event-driven Church lives we will sink further than we ever want to go and many more millions will die into a Christ-less eternity. Please don't reject this urgent call to seek God to send His fire of revival to us today so that the world can look at Christ's Church and be attracted to the life found in Jesus and experience the fullness of joy found in the Holy Spirit's presence. We are called to more than what we have now! Please press in and cry out to God for more of who He is amongst us, to step down and invade our churches and nations. We need Him desperately! So please watch this inspiring conversation between some of today's prominent leaders speaking of this need for revival today... Lord, Do It Again! from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=24473 24473 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:07:00 +0000 I have gleaned a lot of valuable insights from the late Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the issue of revival. In his memorable book titled 'Revival' he gives us deep and lasting truths about the necessity and urgency of revival in our churches today. Though written many years ago, these gems of wisdom remain the same and very applicable to our current context. Here is a block quote for you to read that will help you understand why we are in desperate need for a mighty move of God that He alone can claim glory for... 'What is needed is something that cannot be explained in human terms. What is needed is something that is so striking and so signal that it will arrest the attention of the whole world. That is revival. Now we of ourselves can never do anything like that. We can do a great deal, and we should do all we can. We can preach the truth, we can defend it, we can indulge in our apologetics, we can organize our campaigns, we can try to present a great front to the world. But you know, it does not impress the world. It leaves the world where it was. The need is for something which will be so overwhelming, so divine, so unusual that it will arrest the attention of the world . . . . 'Authenticate Your word. Lord God, let it be known, let it be known beyond a doubt, that we are Your people. Shake us!' I do not ask him to shake the building, but I ask him to shake us. I ask him to do something that is so amazing, so astounding, so divine, that the whole world shall be compelled to look on and say, 'What is this?' as they said on the day of Pentecost.' My heart skips a beat when I think of what those seeing the Church alive and active in the power of God will think and say. Imagine a revival so breathtaking that their only words are of stunned amazement and wonder...'WHAT IS THIS? What does this mean? What is happening?' I believe in the heart of every follower of Jesus is the earnest desire for God's presence, power and glory to come and consume the Church like in the days of the First Church, and perhaps even more than then. It is an inner craving, a deep longing to see God's people, so transformed that the only explanation for what is happening is GOD! I love the fact that the true definition of revival is beyond man's ability to manufacture or create. I love it how God works beyond our formulas, church-growth strategies and campaigns. I love it how God moves by His own divine will without consulting with man if it was ok to move now and whether or not it fit into their scheduled programming. Isn't God the greatest! Over the past couple of years I have seen God do this to me and to the Church I serve and lead. I have described this divine activity as an INVASION OF GOD. It has been both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Exciting and heavy. Empowering and heart-breaking. But mostly very humbling. God has literally invaded my space, my life, my ministry, my relationships, my time, my prayer life, my Bible reading, my very identity. He didn't check with me if I was ready or if I was ok with it happening now. His invasion has resulted in some radical steps that I even find unsettling. Unsettling because it means that my desires are no longer priority. God has placed such a burning passion in me to live for Him that I can't do my own thing anymore. At times as I sit to watch TV, I get very restless and within minutes I find myself going to a quiet place to read, pray or just soak in His presence. I find that my thoughts are consistently fixed on Jesus and the pursuit of His manifest presence. I can't stop thinking about how glorious He is, how holy and magnificent He is and how extravagant His love for me is. These truths have gripped me and are not letting me go! Praise God! I have never been more satisfied yet at the same time more desperate and hungry for Jesus. This 'Invasion of God' has wrecked me for anything else. I can't go back now. It really is what I have been longing for. But I know that this is not the end. This is just the beginning of a tsunami wave of God's presence and He is coming in revival fire to purify His Church and prepare Her for the Bridegroom's return. I know for a fact that I am not the only ruined one out there. I know that there are some of you that are being shaken and stirred for more of God. I know that brokenness seems to be widespread and I have never seen so many repentant Christians. I can't explain it, or tell you why it is happening now, but I do know it is different. Could this be God preparing us for what is ahead? Could this lead us into the greatest revival this nation and world has ever seen? My God is big enough, why not? When God pours out His Spirit on a desperate and expectant people it makes the world pay attention. Suddenly there is a Church that goes beyond their own agenda and cares and loves people into Jesus' Kingdom. Suddenly Jesus is seen in His breathtaking glory and people are being drawn to Him. Suddenly God is overwhelmingly personal and close. Suddenly those far from anything 'religious' find themselves moved to repent and surrender to Jesus. Church buildings are full. Unity is rampant. Love is genuine. Salvation is daily. The Gospel is active. Communities are alive. Nations are repenting. The world will be asking, 'WHAT IS THIS!!!' Answer? THIS CAN ONLY BE ALMIGHTY GOD!!! I'd love to know your thoughts on this growing hunger for more of God. What is He doing to you? Do you feel ruined for anything else? Tell us all your experience with the God of Wonders... I have gleaned a lot of valuable insights from the late Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the issue of revival. In his memorable book titled 'Revival' he gives us deep and lasting truths about the necessity and urgency of revival in our churches today. Though written many years ago, these gems of wisdom remain the same and very applicable to our current context. Here is a block quote for you to read that will help you understand why we are in desperate need for a mighty move of God that He alone can claim glory for... 'What is needed is something that cannot be explained in human terms. What is needed is something that is so striking and so signal that it will arrest the attention of the whole world. That is revival. Now we of ourselves can never do anything like that. We can do a great deal, and we should do all we can. We can preach the truth, we can defend it, we can indulge in our apologetics, we can organize our campaigns, we can try to present a great front to the world. But you know, it does not impress the world. It leaves the world where it was. The need is for something which will be so overwhelming, so divine, so unusual that it will arrest the attention of the world . . . . 'Authenticate Your word. Lord God, let it be known, let it be known beyond a doubt, that we are Your people. Shake us!' I do not ask him to shake the building, but I ask him to shake us. I ask him to do something that is so amazing, so astounding, so divine, that the whole world shall be compelled to look on and say, 'What is this?' as they said on the day of Pentecost.' My heart skips a beat when I think of what those seeing the Church alive and active in the power of God will think and say. Imagine a revival so breathtaking that their only words are of stunned amazement and wonder...'WHAT IS THIS? What does this mean? What is happening?' I believe in the heart of every follower of Jesus is the earnest desire for God's presence, power and glory to come and consume the Church like in the days of the First Church, and perhaps even more than then. It is an inner craving, a deep longing to see God's people, so transformed that the only explanation for what is happening is GOD! I love the fact that the true definition of revival is beyond man's ability to manufacture or create. I love it how God works beyond our formulas, church-growth strategies and campaigns. I love it how God moves by His own divine will without consulting with man if it was ok to move now and whether or not it fit into their scheduled programming. Isn't God the greatest! Over the past couple of years I have seen God do this to me and to the Church I serve and lead. I have described this divine activity as an INVASION OF GOD. It has been both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Exciting and heavy. Empowering and heart-breaking. But mostly very humbling. God has literally invaded my space, my life, my ministry, my relationships, my time, my prayer life, my Bible reading, my very identity. He didn't check with me if I was ready or if I was ok with it happening now. His invasion has resulted in some radical steps that I even find unsettling. Unsettling because it means that my desires are no longer priority. God has placed such a burning passion in me to live for Him that I can't do my own thing anymore. At times as I sit to watch TV, I get very restless and within minutes I find myself going to a quiet place to read, pray or just soak in His presence. I find that my thoughts are consistently fixed on Jesus and the pursuit of His manifest presence. I can't stop thinking about how glorious He is, how holy and magnificent He is and how extravagant His love for me is. These truths have gripped me and are not letting me go! Praise God! I have never been more satisfied yet at the same time more desperate and hungry for Jesus. This 'Invasion of God' has wrecked me for anything else. I can't go back now. It really is what I have been longing for. But I know that this is not the end. This is just the beginning of a tsunami wave of God's presence and He is coming in revival fire to purify His Church and prepare Her for the Bridegroom's return. I know for a fact that I am not the only ruined one out there. I know that there are some of you that are being shaken and stirred for more of God. I know that brokenness seems to be widespread and I have never seen so many repentant Christians. I can't explain it, or tell you why it is happening now, but I do know it is different. Could this be God preparing us for what is ahead? Could this lead us into the greatest revival this nation and world has ever seen? My God is big enough, why not? When God pours out His Spirit on a desperate and expectant people it makes the world pay attention. Suddenly there is a Church that goes beyond their own agenda and cares and loves people into Jesus' Kingdom. Suddenly Jesus is seen in His breathtaking glory and people are being drawn to Him. Suddenly God is overwhelmingly personal and close. Suddenly those far from anything 'religious' find themselves moved to repent and surrender to Jesus. Church buildings are full. Unity is rampant. Love is genuine. Salvation is daily. The Gospel is active. Communities are alive. Nations are repenting. The world will be asking, 'WHAT IS THIS!!!' Answer? THIS CAN ONLY BE ALMIGHTY GOD!!! I'd love to know your thoughts on this growing hunger for more of God. What is He doing to you? Do you feel ruined for anything else? Tell us all your experience with the God of Wonders... http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=24428 24428 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:43:00 +0000 I hate this flesh! I hate how it continually fights against the life Jesus has redeemed to give me. I hate how my flesh screams against the hard disciplines of the Christian life and refuses to take 'no' for an answer. I hate it how it comes up to reveal in me my sinful state and how much more work God still has to do in me. I am sure you can sympathize with me – sin keeps us back, shuts us down, trips us up and locks us in. It is ruthless in how it creeps up when we least expect it AND faithfully appears when we do welcome it! It is helpful for God's people to understand how their depraved and corrupt flesh so easily fights against God's will and how it can quickly disqualify them. Read this classic battle that Paul wrote about in Romans 7:15-25 (ESV): 'For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.' What a battle! Two laws operating against each other. But only one law can prevail – which will it be? Charles Finney in his classic collection of revival sermons, 'Revivals of Religion', wrote an extensive list of sins that we can use to check the state of our heart and holiness. He includes both sins of omission (not doing what we should do) and sins of commission (doing the things we should not do). So take some time to evaluate yourself, but be sure to pray first, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what displeases Him and then be quick to confess it to God, repent and humbly pray His forgiveness to wash over you. Here we go: SINS OF OMISSION: Ingratitude – Have you neglected to thank God for His many blessings and favours? How many can you remember? I am sure there are numerous mercies you have received. Lack of Love for God – Imagine the feeling of discovering the love of your spouse, children or friends has diminished and become weak. What if you saw another person capturing their heart and devotion? Would you be jealous? In a similar way, God calls Himself a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Have you given your heart to other loves and greatly grieved Him? Neglecting Your Bible Reading – Has the Word of God not occupied your time and mind for awhile? Has your Bible reading been so careless that you cannot remember what you have read only moments earlier? What about instances of unbelief? Have you read it so casually that God's promises don't have power in you? Have you accused God of lying? Neglect of Prayer – Think of the times when you have neglected to pray for family, friends, town and nation. What about the times when you purposefully avoided the prayer gathering or meeting to do other things. Remember when you have prayed in such a way that offended God because of your empty phrases and faithless words. Poor Spiritual Attitude – Have you been unnmoved by God's presence? Have you questioned, mocked and despised what God has done or is doing? Have your prayers become meaningless chatter that is totally lifeless and careless? A Lack of Love for the Souls of Fellowmen – Look at your friends and relatives and remember how little compassion you have felt for them. You have stood by and watched them going right to hell, yet it seemed as though you did not care. How many days have passed that you have not prayed about their sinful condition? A Lack of Concern for Unbelievers – Perhaps you have not cared enough for unbelievers to learn about their condition. Do you really care for their hell-bound souls? Do you desire their salvation? Sin of Hypocrisy – Do you deny yourself? Does your talk coincide with your walk? Are you only pretending to be a Christian? Your faith is an insult to Jesus Christ! Neglect of Family and Private Duties – Think of how you have lived, putting yourself before your family. How have you prayed? What example have you set before them? What duties for their sake have you neglected? Are you watchful of your own life? Neglecting to Watch over Fellow Believers – We have many brothers and sisters in Christ and it is wrong to not watch over them. How little do you care about the state of their souls? Have you become aquainted with them? With how many of them have you taken enough interest to know their spiritual state, let alone their names? Have you been silent so as not to offend? When they fall into sin, what is your response? Neglect of Self-Denial – Is Jesus asking too much? Are you willing to do anything for Jesus as long as it does not require self-denial and death to self? Are you unwilling to deny yourself comfort or convenience for the sake of serving our Lord? What about luxuries you cannot afford? Do you have the audacity to complain about others who give less than you? Of course, there are more sins that relate under this category. Ask God to show you… Let's move on… SINS OF COMMISSION: Worldly–Mindedness – What has been the state of your heart in regard to your worldy possessions? Have you looked at them as really yours – as if you had a right to dispose of them as your own, according to your own will? Do you see the things of this world capable of gratifying your lust for more? Pride – Remember all of the instances when you have found yourself thinking of yourself more highly than you ought. How many times have you been vain about your dress and appearance without even considering the inner state of your heart? How many times have you thought more about and taken more trouble and time decorating your body to go to Church than preparing your mind to worship God? Do you long to be worshipped by others? Envy – Have you envied those you thought were above you? Have you envied those who are more talented or more useful than yourself? Has it been more pleasant to you to dwell on their faults rather than their virtues, their failures rather than their successes? A Critical Spirit – Remember the times you have had a bitter spirit and spoken of Christians in a manner that did not show love. Do you look for what is wrong and dwell on it and perhaps make sure your opinion is known? Slander – The times you have spoken unnecessarily about the faults, real or imagined, of members of the Church or others behind their backs – this is slander. You don't have to lie to be guilty of slander. Telling the truth with the intent to injure is slander. Lack of Seriousness – How often have you been lighthearted before God, forgetting His divine and holy presence can literally crush you? Have you forgotten there is a God? Or perhaps you have had less respect for Him and His presence than you would show toward an earthly judge. Lying – Have you intended to deceive others? Have you decided to make an impression contrary to the naked truth? Cheating – Have you dealt with others in a way that you would not like to have done to you? (See Matthew 7:12) Hypocrisy – Does hypocrisy exist in your prayers and confessions to God? How many times have you confessed sins that you did not mean to stop committing? Robbing God – Think of the times you have misspent your time, your money and your affections. What about misapplied your talents and giftings? Have your lusts and greeds stolen what is reserved for God? Bad Temper – Perhaps you have abused your spouse, children, family, coworkers, or neighbours. Hindering Others from Being Useful – Have you weakened another Christian's influence by saying things against him? Have you stood in the way of others being used by God because of your arrogance and pride? Have you taken people's time needlessly? Have you used others to serve your purposes thus preventing them to serve God in His? There you go, that is an extensive list but one that can no doubt be added to. I offer this to you as a starting point towards a life of clean hands and a pure heart. At CityWest Church we are really being drawn deeper into repentance and holiness as God steps closer than ever before. But as Rob Cartledge wrote in God's Heart Cry For Revival 'The closer you get to God, the cleaner He expects you to be.' Be quick to repent as there is too much at stake. So if you are willing to join me in asking God to search us and see if there is any offensive way in us, then we can expect God closer than He has ever been and we can walk in the joy of His salvation. Don't reject this, embrace it! I hate this flesh! I hate how it continually fights against the life Jesus has redeemed to give me. I hate how my flesh screams against the hard disciplines of the Christian life and refuses to take 'no' for an answer. I hate it how it comes up to reveal in me my sinful state and how much more work God still has to do in me. I am sure you can sympathize with me – sin keeps us back, shuts us down, trips us up and locks us in. It is ruthless in how it creeps up when we least expect it AND faithfully appears when we do welcome it! It is helpful for God's people to understand how their depraved and corrupt flesh so easily fights against God's will and how it can quickly disqualify them. Read this classic battle that Paul wrote about in Romans 7:15-25 (ESV): 'For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.' What a battle! Two laws operating against each other. But only one law can prevail – which will it be? Charles Finney in his classic collection of revival sermons, 'Revivals of Religion', wrote an extensive list of sins that we can use to check the state of our heart and holiness. He includes both sins of omission (not doing what we should do) and sins of commission (doing the things we should not do). So take some time to evaluate yourself, but be sure to pray first, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what displeases Him and then be quick to confess it to God, repent and humbly pray His forgiveness to wash over you. Here we go: SINS OF OMISSION: Ingratitude – Have you neglected to thank God for His many blessings and favours? How many can you remember? I am sure there are numerous mercies you have received. Lack of Love for God – Imagine the feeling of discovering the love of your spouse, children or friends has diminished and become weak. What if you saw another person capturing their heart and devotion? Would you be jealous? In a similar way, God calls Himself a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Have you given your heart to other loves and greatly grieved Him? Neglecting Your Bible Reading – Has the Word of God not occupied your time and mind for awhile? Has your Bible reading been so careless that you cannot remember what you have read only moments earlier? What about instances of unbelief? Have you read it so casually that God's promises don't have power in you? Have you accused God of lying? Neglect of Prayer – Think of the times when you have neglected to pray for family, friends, town and nation. What about the times when you purposefully avoided the prayer gathering or meeting to do other things. Remember when you have prayed in such a way that offended God because of your empty phrases and faithless words. Poor Spiritual Attitude – Have you been unnmoved by God's presence? Have you questioned, mocked and despised what God has done or is doing? Have your prayers become meaningless chatter that is totally lifeless and careless? A Lack of Love for the Souls of Fellowmen – Look at your friends and relatives and remember how little compassion you have felt for them. You have stood by and watched them going right to hell, yet it seemed as though you did not care. How many days have passed that you have not prayed about their sinful condition? A Lack of Concern for Unbelievers – Perhaps you have not cared enough for unbelievers to learn about their condition. Do you really care for their hell-bound souls? Do you desire their salvation? Sin of Hypocrisy – Do you deny yourself? Does your talk coincide with your walk? Are you only pretending to be a Christian? Your faith is an insult to Jesus Christ! Neglect of Family and Private Duties – Think of how you have lived, putting yourself before your family. How have you prayed? What example have you set before them? What duties for their sake have you neglected? Are you watchful of your own life? Neglecting to Watch over Fellow Believers – We have many brothers and sisters in Christ and it is wrong to not watch over them. How little do you care about the state of their souls? Have you become aquainted with them? With how many of them have you taken enough interest to know their spiritual state, let alone their names? Have you been silent so as not to offend? When they fall into sin, what is your response? Neglect of Self-Denial – Is Jesus asking too much? Are you willing to do anything for Jesus as long as it does not require self-denial and death to self? Are you unwilling to deny yourself comfort or convenience for the sake of serving our Lord? What about luxuries you cannot afford? Do you have the audacity to complain about others who give less than you? Of course, there are more sins that relate under this category. Ask God to show you… Let's move on… SINS OF COMMISSION: Worldly–Mindedness – What has been the state of your heart in regard to your worldy possessions? Have you looked at them as really yours – as if you had a right to dispose of them as your own, according to your own will? Do you see the things of this world capable of gratifying your lust for more? Pride – Remember all of the instances when you have found yourself thinking of yourself more highly than you ought. How many times have you been vain about your dress and appearance without even considering the inner state of your heart? How many times have you thought more about and taken more trouble and time decorating your body to go to Church than preparing your mind to worship God? Do you long to be worshipped by others? Envy – Have you envied those you thought were above you? Have you envied those who are more talented or more useful than yourself? Has it been more pleasant to you to dwell on their faults rather than their virtues, their failures rather than their successes? A Critical Spirit – Remember the times you have had a bitter spirit and spoken of Christians in a manner that did not show love. Do you look for what is wrong and dwell on it and perhaps make sure your opinion is known? Slander – The times you have spoken unnecessarily about the faults, real or imagined, of members of the Church or others behind their backs – this is slander. You don't have to lie to be guilty of slander. Telling the truth with the intent to injure is slander. Lack of Seriousness – How often have you been lighthearted before God, forgetting His divine and holy presence can literally crush you? Have you forgotten there is a God? Or perhaps you have had less respect for Him and His presence than you would show toward an earthly judge. Lying – Have you intended to deceive others? Have you decided to make an impression contrary to the naked truth? Cheating – Have you dealt with others in a way that you would not like to have done to you? (See Matthew 7:12) Hypocrisy – Does hypocrisy exist in your prayers and confessions to God? How many times have you confessed sins that you did not mean to stop committing? Robbing God – Think of the times you have misspent your time, your money and your affections. What about misapplied your talents and giftings? Have your lusts and greeds stolen what is reserved for God? Bad Temper – Perhaps you have abused your spouse, children, family, coworkers, or neighbours. Hindering Others from Being Useful – Have you weakened another Christian's influence by saying things against him? Have you stood in the way of others being used by God because of your arrogance and pride? Have you taken people's time needlessly? Have you used others to serve your purposes thus preventing them to serve God in His? There you go, that is an extensive list but one that can no doubt be added to. I offer this to you as a starting point towards a life of clean hands and a pure heart. At CityWest Church we are really being drawn deeper into repentance and holiness as God steps closer than ever before. But as Rob Cartledge wrote in God's Heart Cry For Revival 'The closer you get to God, the cleaner He expects you to be.' Be quick to repent as there is too much at stake. So if you are willing to join me in asking God to search us and see if there is any offensive way in us, then we can expect God closer than He has ever been and we can walk in the joy of His salvation. Don't reject this, embrace it! http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=24164 24164 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:42:00 +0000 The following blog post is the transcript from a sermon I preached a long while ago. Having recently battled through the silence of heaven I was greatly encouraged with the remembrance of these words. I also believe many right now are struggling with the same pain and I believe these words can lift you up and place your trust in the One who knows, cares and answers prayers. So sit back, take time to read this carefully (it is a bit long) and let God do His work… Someone once said, 'When God closes one door He opens another – but it is hell in the hallway!' That could not be more true. Those times of waiting are brutal. I have had to battle these moments in the past as I have had to endure seasons of heaven's silence. You know those seasons when your prayers don't seem to penetrate the ceiling let alone heaven. When you're pleading with God for an answer yet all you are left to deal with is a deafening silence from God. It is painful because it puts a massive strain on your relationship with God. I remember once I fell on my knees in tears begging God to say something. I needed His direction. I needed His guidance and all I got was silence. That really, really hurts. I will never deny the fact that these moments rip your heart out and literally dent your faith. You wonder, you doubt, you battle with destructive thoughts. It is not a pleasant place to be in. Another characteristic of this season of silence is the lack of passion and zeal that you once had. Your spiritual life seems so dry and empty. You feel you are just going through the motions and just managing to survive. I know, I've been there, it is horrible. But my purpose here is not to focus on these moments because if we do we will allow defeat to define us and this is not who we are or where God will keep us. I want to encourage you to push through because God, your personal loving God, is always faithful, even if He takes, in our opinion, a long time to come. The words to a Casting Crowns song that has really gripped many across this world is 'Praise You In The Storm'. It speaks of God not coming through as you would expect but it still gives no reason to stop trusting and praising Him. The words are as follows: I was sure by now God You would have reached down And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen that it's still raining. As the thunder rolls, I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, 'I'm with you'. And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away. Chorus: And I'll praise You in this storm, And I will lift my hands That You are who You are, no matter where I am And every tear I've cried, You hold in your hand You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise you in this storm. That song speaks of a breakthrough. A breakthrough that goes from our natural response of blaming, complaining and doubting to a faith-filled response of, 'God even though I don't know why this is happening, though I don't see the end in sight and though this hurts so bad I am making the CHOICE to praise You and worship You because I know You.' I am not here to give you quick little answers to your dilemma. I am not here to prevent or alleviate your suffering. I am not here to rush in and fix your situation, but I am here to direct your thoughts and your heart to the ONLY ONE who can save you. It is so, so easy to get our focus off Jesus and lock it onto the massive mountain in front of us which then casts a long shadow over our faith and hope. Jesus exists beyond the shadow and with one word that mountain can be turned to dust. There is something we need to understand about this silence from heaven – if we want to step in and mess with it, or try and fix it with our limited understanding and wisdom, we can do more damage than good. God is doing something in you and for you during these times. Though you might not see it or appreciate it, God's silence is actually His preparation for your deliverance and for greater things. And so I join you eager to see what God is about to do next. So here are some suggestions what to do when heaven seems silent and your time in the hallway waiting for the open door of relief, seems endless. 1. REFUSE to accept the role of victim. A sure way to destroy what God is doing with you is to align yourself with the thinking that you are a poor and pitiful victim that deserves no less and you might as well get used to this as it can't get better. When the Old Testament Job had received bad news after another in quick swift blows it would have been enough to ruin any normal person. Imagine hearing that your kids were killed, your livelihood and wealth stolen, your workforce killed, your cattle burnt to a crisp because of lightening, and everything you ever knew was suddenly gone. Look at Job 1:20-22 (ESV) to see how he responded, 'Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.' Job was a victim yet he refused to act like one. I know this is an extreme case, but if Job could react like that with everything in his life taken from him, don't you think you and I can survive and thrive through the hard times we endure? It's amazing what a fresh perspective on things can do for you. Another thing to consider as you go through the times when God seems more against you than for you is, 2. RESTRAIN the voices you listen to. What I mean by that is be careful who you listen to when heaven seems silent because whenever someone goes through something, rushing to the scene are what we call 'Fixers'. A pastor once said, 'Sufferers attract fixers like road-kill attracts vultures.' These 'Fixers' are the people that think they have all the answers, can fully understand why this is happening, can give you a sermon with 3 points and a poem to fix you up and often make you feel worse than before they came. They tell you what is wrong and push their opinions on you about what to do to fix it. What troubles me greatly is that such people often come to you with a 'word from the Lord' mixed with their own emotions and opinions. The 'Fixers' can cause a lot of damage. Job's story is more than just Job battling with the reasons why this turmoil is occurring. We find his friends that come to the 'rescue' and I say that sarcastically. They didn't do everything wrong though. Read Job 2:11-13 (ESV) what they did right, 'Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.' Sadly their sympathetic silence didn't last…they soon opened their mouths. Eliphaz spoke up and explained that Job was suffering like this because of some sin in his life and God was simply disciplining him. He says to Job in 5:17 (ESV), 'Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty'. Really encouraging isn't it? This of course was inaccurate and insensitive as Job knew that he was blameless and his relationship with God was right. We read during endless conversations that follow how Job's friends were actually destroying him with their words and tearing him down…and here they were thinking they were doing him a favour and helping him – this is a typical characteristic of a 'Fixer'. Be careful whom you listen to and don't be scared to walk away and therefore restrain the 'Fixer' from doing even more damage. The next suggestion I want to give you when heaven seems silent is, 3. RESPECT the mystery of God. I can live a hundred lifetimes and I still won't fully understand and comprehend the magnitude of God and the depth of His wisdom and love for me. He does things that leave me speechless and really make me scratch my head. One of those things is the church I serve and lead. I have struggled many times with the way God is building His church. He has stretched me, shaped me, cut me, twisted me and made me change so many of my assumptions about Him and how He works. I realize more now than ever how much I really am limited by my plans and doing things the way I do. Yet when I step away and let go it is then that my faith is really tested because I have no control of the situation or it's outcome and that's hard for me. God clearly tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV), 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' Though those verses were written hundreds of years after Job, Job still accepted that truth in his moment of despair. Read Job 2:10, '…Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips.' I love how The Message paraphrase puts that verse, '…We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?' Read this carefully…The mystery of God eclipses the darkness and the struggle. In other words, when you allow the Sovereignty of God, which is His all-knowing and all-in-control nature to enter your heart, all you can do is sit back and wait and accept the silence as God's mystery. Don't try and figure Him out or let others figure Him out for you…it's all guess work and assumptions and we can get into trouble quickly by doing that. There are times in your Christian journey when you just throw your arms up in the air and say, 'God I have no idea why this is happening or how You will get me through it…but I will wait and trust until You do.' Then, 4. RESPOND in protest and prayer. God is never shocked by your honestly. He is never offended by your questioning and protest, as a matter of fact He welcomes it. God loves a bit of gutsy determination to get the best out of Him. He loves it when we are bold and come to Him with honest, heartfelt questions while still appreciating His holiness and respecting His majesty. I love Job's protest and prayers. They show a man pure before God yet still reverent. They show a heartfelt and desperate search for answers, not from man, but from God Himself. Now read Job 13:3, 17-24 (ESV), 'But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God…Keep listening to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears. Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face: withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me. How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?' Would you dare speak to God like that? That borders on the line of irreverence. I can imagine God listening to that and thinking, 'It's ok, let it out. I know you don't get it yet but I know you're struggling with this. I am listening to you, speak your heart.' I must add this…be careful that you don't demand an explanation from God. Be careful you don't scream and yell out of unholy anger towards God blaming Him and reducing Him to someone you can control. I remember hearing a prayer like that from a certain woman and how she was screaming at God and demanding this and that, I felt I had to duck for cover because I was sure a lightening bolt from heaven was just moments away! God will not tolerate irreverence and arrogance, so let's be careful what we say and how we say it. Remember He is God and you are not. He still deserves respect and honour. But at the same time, don't fear telling Him how you feel and how this silence is killing you. Some of my most intimate moments with God have been when I was on my face in prayer and pouring out my heart to God. Not denying my feelings, but openly telling Him. You see, God already knows before you utter one word, so letting it out is actually for our good, not His. That leads me to the final suggestion of what to do as you wait for God: 4. REJOICE, your redemption is near! Time means nothing to God. By that I mean that He is not ruled by the hours that limit us. If God takes more than a day to answer us we get all nervous and anxious. But God sees it from the perspective of purpose, not time. You need to get this…With each groan, each protest, each prayer, each question, each tear, each cry for help God sees, God hears and God works. You might think He is inactive and blocking His ears to you during your silent season, but during it all God is working things out and guiding you along a process of maturity and growth. At the RIGHT TIME God breaks through and in a matter of moments everything changes. You are faced with who you are as you see yourself in the light of who He is. Job had that moment of breakthrough in chapters 38-42. God reminds Job how big He [God] is. He gets his focus off everything he lost and redirects him to the awesome majesty of God and everything he will gain. Hope is revived and health is restored. Some of you are still waiting for that miracle moment. And you might be waiting a little longer until God has achieved everything He has for you during this season. None of it goes to waste as no pain is in vain. Just like the words in the song I shared earlier, I was sure by now God You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen that it's still raining. Are you prepared to worship God even if it is still raining in your life? Are you willing to go beyond what you see or understand and trust Jesus to calm your storm? Hey your answer might come today or it might come next month or next year, but still a promise from God exists to those who wait and it is found in Isaiah 30:18 (ESV), 'Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.' As you wait, worship Jesus because He is worthy regardless of your circumstance. I really believe that worship sets the scene for breakthrough. Be encouraged and be wise as you live through what seems like God is disinterested and distant. Heaven's silence is not silence at all, it is God being with you, crying with you, feeling every pain and hurt with you. Though He might not say anything, rest in His arms and let Him hold you. GOD IS HERE and GOD IS NEAR. The following blog post is the transcript from a sermon I preached a long while ago. Having recently battled through the silence of heaven I was greatly encouraged with the remembrance of these words. I also believe many right now are struggling with the same pain and I believe these words can lift you up and place your trust in the One who knows, cares and answers prayers. So sit back, take time to read this carefully (it is a bit long) and let God do His work… Someone once said, 'When God closes one door He opens another – but it is hell in the hallway!' That could not be more true. Those times of waiting are brutal. I have had to battle these moments in the past as I have had to endure seasons of heaven's silence. You know those seasons when your prayers don't seem to penetrate the ceiling let alone heaven. When you're pleading with God for an answer yet all you are left to deal with is a deafening silence from God. It is painful because it puts a massive strain on your relationship with God. I remember once I fell on my knees in tears begging God to say something. I needed His direction. I needed His guidance and all I got was silence. That really, really hurts. I will never deny the fact that these moments rip your heart out and literally dent your faith. You wonder, you doubt, you battle with destructive thoughts. It is not a pleasant place to be in. Another characteristic of this season of silence is the lack of passion and zeal that you once had. Your spiritual life seems so dry and empty. You feel you are just going through the motions and just managing to survive. I know, I've been there, it is horrible. But my purpose here is not to focus on these moments because if we do we will allow defeat to define us and this is not who we are or where God will keep us. I want to encourage you to push through because God, your personal loving God, is always faithful, even if He takes, in our opinion, a long time to come. The words to a Casting Crowns song that has really gripped many across this world is 'Praise You In The Storm'. It speaks of God not coming through as you would expect but it still gives no reason to stop trusting and praising Him. The words are as follows: I was sure by now God You would have reached down And wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen that it's still raining. As the thunder rolls, I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, 'I'm with you'. And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away. Chorus: And I'll praise You in this storm, And I will lift my hands That You are who You are, no matter where I am And every tear I've cried, You hold in your hand You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise you in this storm. That song speaks of a breakthrough. A breakthrough that goes from our natural response of blaming, complaining and doubting to a faith-filled response of, 'God even though I don't know why this is happening, though I don't see the end in sight and though this hurts so bad I am making the CHOICE to praise You and worship You because I know You.' I am not here to give you quick little answers to your dilemma. I am not here to prevent or alleviate your suffering. I am not here to rush in and fix your situation, but I am here to direct your thoughts and your heart to the ONLY ONE who can save you. It is so, so easy to get our focus off Jesus and lock it onto the massive mountain in front of us which then casts a long shadow over our faith and hope. Jesus exists beyond the shadow and with one word that mountain can be turned to dust. There is something we need to understand about this silence from heaven – if we want to step in and mess with it, or try and fix it with our limited understanding and wisdom, we can do more damage than good. God is doing something in you and for you during these times. Though you might not see it or appreciate it, God's silence is actually His preparation for your deliverance and for greater things. And so I join you eager to see what God is about to do next. So here are some suggestions what to do when heaven seems silent and your time in the hallway waiting for the open door of relief, seems endless. 1. REFUSE to accept the role of victim. A sure way to destroy what God is doing with you is to align yourself with the thinking that you are a poor and pitiful victim that deserves no less and you might as well get used to this as it can't get better. When the Old Testament Job had received bad news after another in quick swift blows it would have been enough to ruin any normal person. Imagine hearing that your kids were killed, your livelihood and wealth stolen, your workforce killed, your cattle burnt to a crisp because of lightening, and everything you ever knew was suddenly gone. Look at Job 1:20-22 (ESV) to see how he responded, 'Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.' Job was a victim yet he refused to act like one. I know this is an extreme case, but if Job could react like that with everything in his life taken from him, don't you think you and I can survive and thrive through the hard times we endure? It's amazing what a fresh perspective on things can do for you. Another thing to consider as you go through the times when God seems more against you than for you is, 2. RESTRAIN the voices you listen to. What I mean by that is be careful who you listen to when heaven seems silent because whenever someone goes through something, rushing to the scene are what we call 'Fixers'. A pastor once said, 'Sufferers attract fixers like road-kill attracts vultures.' These 'Fixers' are the people that think they have all the answers, can fully understand why this is happening, can give you a sermon with 3 points and a poem to fix you up and often make you feel worse than before they came. They tell you what is wrong and push their opinions on you about what to do to fix it. What troubles me greatly is that such people often come to you with a 'word from the Lord' mixed with their own emotions and opinions. The 'Fixers' can cause a lot of damage. Job's story is more than just Job battling with the reasons why this turmoil is occurring. We find his friends that come to the 'rescue' and I say that sarcastically. They didn't do everything wrong though. Read Job 2:11-13 (ESV) what they did right, 'Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.' Sadly their sympathetic silence didn't last…they soon opened their mouths. Eliphaz spoke up and explained that Job was suffering like this because of some sin in his life and God was simply disciplining him. He says to Job in 5:17 (ESV), 'Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty'. Really encouraging isn't it? This of course was inaccurate and insensitive as Job knew that he was blameless and his relationship with God was right. We read during endless conversations that follow how Job's friends were actually destroying him with their words and tearing him down…and here they were thinking they were doing him a favour and helping him – this is a typical characteristic of a 'Fixer'. Be careful whom you listen to and don't be scared to walk away and therefore restrain the 'Fixer' from doing even more damage. The next suggestion I want to give you when heaven seems silent is, 3. RESPECT the mystery of God. I can live a hundred lifetimes and I still won't fully understand and comprehend the magnitude of God and the depth of His wisdom and love for me. He does things that leave me speechless and really make me scratch my head. One of those things is the church I serve and lead. I have struggled many times with the way God is building His church. He has stretched me, shaped me, cut me, twisted me and made me change so many of my assumptions about Him and how He works. I realize more now than ever how much I really am limited by my plans and doing things the way I do. Yet when I step away and let go it is then that my faith is really tested because I have no control of the situation or it's outcome and that's hard for me. God clearly tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV), 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' Though those verses were written hundreds of years after Job, Job still accepted that truth in his moment of despair. Read Job 2:10, '…Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips.' I love how The Message paraphrase puts that verse, '…We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?' Read this carefully…The mystery of God eclipses the darkness and the struggle. In other words, when you allow the Sovereignty of God, which is His all-knowing and all-in-control nature to enter your heart, all you can do is sit back and wait and accept the silence as God's mystery. Don't try and figure Him out or let others figure Him out for you…it's all guess work and assumptions and we can get into trouble quickly by doing that. There are times in your Christian journey when you just throw your arms up in the air and say, 'God I have no idea why this is happening or how You will get me through it…but I will wait and trust until You do.' Then, 4. RESPOND in protest and prayer. God is never shocked by your honestly. He is never offended by your questioning and protest, as a matter of fact He welcomes it. God loves a bit of gutsy determination to get the best out of Him. He loves it when we are bold and come to Him with honest, heartfelt questions while still appreciating His holiness and respecting His majesty. I love Job's protest and prayers. They show a man pure before God yet still reverent. They show a heartfelt and desperate search for answers, not from man, but from God Himself. Now read Job 13:3, 17-24 (ESV), 'But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God…Keep listening to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears. Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face: withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me. How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?' Would you dare speak to God like that? That borders on the line of irreverence. I can imagine God listening to that and thinking, 'It's ok, let it out. I know you don't get it yet but I know you're struggling with this. I am listening to you, speak your heart.' I must add this…be careful that you don't demand an explanation from God. Be careful you don't scream and yell out of unholy anger towards God blaming Him and reducing Him to someone you can control. I remember hearing a prayer like that from a certain woman and how she was screaming at God and demanding this and that, I felt I had to duck for cover because I was sure a lightening bolt from heaven was just moments away! God will not tolerate irreverence and arrogance, so let's be careful what we say and how we say it. Remember He is God and you are not. He still deserves respect and honour. But at the same time, don't fear telling Him how you feel and how this silence is killing you. Some of my most intimate moments with God have been when I was on my face in prayer and pouring out my heart to God. Not denying my feelings, but openly telling Him. You see, God already knows before you utter one word, so letting it out is actually for our good, not His. That leads me to the final suggestion of what to do as you wait for God: 4. REJOICE, your redemption is near! Time means nothing to God. By that I mean that He is not ruled by the hours that limit us. If God takes more than a day to answer us we get all nervous and anxious. But God sees it from the perspective of purpose, not time. You need to get this…With each groan, each protest, each prayer, each question, each tear, each cry for help God sees, God hears and God works. You might think He is inactive and blocking His ears to you during your silent season, but during it all God is working things out and guiding you along a process of maturity and growth. At the RIGHT TIME God breaks through and in a matter of moments everything changes. You are faced with who you are as you see yourself in the light of who He is. Job had that moment of breakthrough in chapters 38-42. God reminds Job how big He [God] is. He gets his focus off everything he lost and redirects him to the awesome majesty of God and everything he will gain. Hope is revived and health is restored. Some of you are still waiting for that miracle moment. And you might be waiting a little longer until God has achieved everything He has for you during this season. None of it goes to waste as no pain is in vain. Just like the words in the song I shared earlier, I was sure by now God You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen that it's still raining. Are you prepared to worship God even if it is still raining in your life? Are you willing to go beyond what you see or understand and trust Jesus to calm your storm? Hey your answer might come today or it might come next month or next year, but still a promise from God exists to those who wait and it is found in Isaiah 30:18 (ESV), 'Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.' As you wait, worship Jesus because He is worthy regardless of your circumstance. I really believe that worship sets the scene for breakthrough. Be encouraged and be wise as you live through what seems like God is disinterested and distant. Heaven's silence is not silence at all, it is God being with you, crying with you, feeling every pain and hurt with you. Though He might not say anything, rest in His arms and let Him hold you. GOD IS HERE and GOD IS NEAR. http://www.citywestchurch.com.au/index.cfm?i=13957&mid=25&blogid=6016&comments=23963 23963 Thu, 9 Jun 2011 04:31:00 +0000