The Light of Life

Have you ever seen a worm farm? As you place into the correct tray a swag of rotting kitchen waste and vegetable matter, worms move from the other trays to begin devouring these new nutrients.

It is interesting, that as soon as you lift the lid to pour in the latest deposit, all the worms begin to move away quickly and desperately. They love the food you give them and are happy to produce worm castings to enrich the soil; but they hate the warmth and light from the sun. Actually they are real wimps – they withdraw when it is too cold or too hot. But it is the light that triggers their frantic escape back into darkness.

The Bible describes a life lived outside a covenant-relationship with God as “darkness”, and in turn, describes the message of salvation in Jesus as “light”. Upon hearing the Gospel, one of the basic impulses of most people is to wriggle away desperately from this brightness because it reveals and discloses the secrets and hidden matters of the human psyche.

However, as it is true in nature, so it can be true in spiritual matters. Although we may naturally recoil from the light, it is life, just as the sun’s warmth is essential to the life of flora and fauna.

If you shine the light of Jesus’ teaching, and most importantly the message of His death and resurrection, into your psyche – do you recoil from the exposure or reach out to embrace the light of life?

Attraction

Is there a person in your life to whom you are attracted, whether it is because of looks, character, influence, lifestyle or some intangible quality? You are drawn into the circle of their influence and you are glad for the mutual nourishment that comes from this connection.

Most of us are drawn to other people in some way:
George Cluny draws women by his looks and roguish charms; Jennifer Hawkins draws men by her beauty and elegance; Nelson Mandella draws people because of his story, his perseverance and his oratory capacity to inspire; Dr. Fiona Woods draws people through her intelligence, and ability to apply medical practices in trauma situations (remember the Bali victims and their burns)

You may be drawn to someone locally or personally and the celebrities don’t attract you at all. Perhaps it is the smiling face of your local butcher or the kindness and coffee of a neighbour.

Jesus drew people to Him. His teaching; His peace and grace amid persecution; His charismatic energy and personal power; miracles and control over supernatural forces. All these traits and many more caused people to flock to fields, synagogues, markets and even the Jewish temple to hear Him or receive healing and blessing from Him.

However, many people eventually moved away from Him, reacting like a moth coming too close to the light and getting burnt. He once said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:20. These Pharisees donated one tenth of their herbs and home crops; they would not walk further than a few hundred metres on the Sabbath; they prayed often throughout the day; they gave extensively to the temple from their wealth and income; they pored over the Scriptures and were men of the Word. How can our righteousness surpass this? Does this model of a life attract you?

That which attracts us to Jesus is a life based on the goodness of love. Do not be drawn in by a list of righteous things that actually move you away from the law of love and erect a barrier between you and Jesus. As an act of your own will, remain close and be nourished by His goodness, love, sacrifice and blessing.

A Spiritual Makeover

Dominating our television screens over the past decade has been lifestyle and reality television shows. Lifestyle programs are those targeting how we construct our daily living, and how we want our wardrobe, home, car, caravan or holiday to be. Perhaps you have an image in your mind of the perfect life and you have used some of the television shows to help you build this dream!

The power of lifestyle programming lies in its ability to present you with a dream that stimulates many senses and instincts, so that your mind can anticipate look, smell, feel and ambience. Furthermore, the television networkers have re-defined an existing word with powerful overtones to draw all our hope and dreams into their particular program; this word is MAKEOVER.

v A person’s face can be reconstructed to give an individual a sense of approval by others.
v A lounge room can be “madeover” so that it reflects your culture and preferences.
v A holiday can be planned so that children get kids stuff, parents get time away, and also the entire family gets time together.

God has a claim on every human soul, and at the centre of His claim is a call to a spiritual makeover. By this, He means that we must relinquish our hold on shaping our morals, ethics, attitudes, behaviours and instincts and allow these to be totally remodelled according to His blueprint. The image of a potter making a mistake with a moist piece of clay, crushing it back to a ball and starting again is helpful in trying to understand how God wants to change our inner life.

Some of this happens the instant we admit our inner sin, hurt and turmoil and reach out to God for salvation through Jesus Christ; however a lot of work remains as we learn to live with God’s Holy Spirit as He works out a new spiritual framework within our spirit.

What is important is to understand the imperative here. This spiritual makeover is an absolute and an essential in Christian spiritual life. It is not an optional extra to faith in Christ and attending church services (both of which are good and noble).

So, how is your spiritual makeover going? Are your hopes dreams, preferences and instincts all informed and inspired by Christ in you through His Spirit?

Participation and unity

I meet with a group of evangelical pastors each Monday for fellowship, prayer and a great coffee at cafe Per Te in Church St Brighton, and it is one of the most encouraging, supportive and nurturing environments to be a part of. We care for each other deeply and strive to bring a genuine Christian love and strength to each other.

We also have great debates at times, and even though we hotly debate and disagree on the meaning and application in certain parts of the Bible, we always pray with each other, and agree to have minor disagreements. There is a great sense of unity and dedication to the Gospel.

One such discussion of late has been on the issues of baptism. Why did Jesus institute it, and how does it apply to the modern Christian life?

For example, if a person in their heart genuinely repents of their sin, seeks forgiveness from God through the merits of Christ, and invites the Holy Spirit to be the guiding influence in their life, hasn't faith brought this person the fullness of the Kingdom? What does baptism add? The same questions arise when discussing what happens when a Christian or Christians take the Lord's Supper.

Why must we participate in these "rituals" when the Bible clearly declares that "it is by faith you are saved"? Why did Jesus say to participate in these 2 ceremonies if all that is needed is faith? These are difficult questions to answer, and trying to figure them out can be very difficult, and if we are not careful, can also cause unnecessary divisions between Christians. 3 things must be said:

Obey the command to participate in these ceremonies as an act of obedience, as part of your holiness and not thinking that it has anything to do with salvation, apart from remembrance of how and why you are saved. To quote Mary Basilea Schlink "I love Him but I do not understand Him". Participate as an act of holy obedience because we are instructed to.

We must have faith while participating in these rituals, or the ritual means nothing. It is our changed heart, absolutely convinced of and filled with the body and blood of Christ, that causes something to change in us in terms of our spiritual life.

Do not argue with other Christians about this. It is one of the most central and unifying acts a Christian can participate in, and it should not cause anger, vitriol, or condemnation. Let the Holy spirit bring a sense of holiness, and to quote the Apostle Paul, "do not be condemned by what you approve of.

Breakthrough

Have you ever felt truly stuck? In a situation where your actions are not causing any change or improvement?

Our Church has been examining the book of Ephesians in the Bible, and as we do so one recurring theme is becoming evident; that God is VERY powerful and can breakthrough human experience and deliver us to a new day, a new experience, a new horizon in life.

Once, I was travelling home on a single lane, lonely country road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farms, frost and fog and nature called in the most urgent manner. I pulled over onto a dirt side-road, forgetting totally that it had been raining for almost a week (ah, the good ol' days before the drought!) and got severely bogged. Fortunately, a Council road team happened to come by and pull me out.

• People can help us out.
• Society and its social safety nets can help us out.
• Self-knowledge and self-help teachers can help us out.

But for some situations, only the mighty hand of God can deliver us from our incapacity and impotency. Yes, He might use other people or a self-help guru, or He might need to send His Spirit in power and do an amazing inner, spiritual work that is unseen but VERY real.

Remember the powerful words of the Bible; "those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"

Holy Spirit or Culture

At a conference I attended recently, words such as relational, informal and engaging language were used to define how we need to present the Gospel in the current age. While I understand and agree with this, it is beginning to concern me because this is the language of post-modernism and post-modernism is the language and culture of this age.

Why the concern? Why does it bother me that we are trying to relate to and inform culture? My warning antennae are vibrating because I am convinced that the New Testament wants us to inform culture through the Gospel under the power of the Holy Spirit, whereas the Church seems powerfully intent in bringing post-modern culture in to influence the Gospel.

In the 1950's to 1980's in Australia, the Church was very institutional. Why? Because the Australian mainstream society was institutional and the same mistake was made. This strict allegiance to authorities, rules and form was the heart of modernism and unfortunately, the Church took these principles into itself and said "this is how the Gospel and the Church should be in our age."

When will we stop allowing the Spirit of the age to form our principles, attitudes and behaviours and instead rely on the Spirit of God?

Don't get me wrong - we have make the message of the Gospel and the character of the Church meaningful and relevant to the age in which we live but we cannot alter either the Gospel or the Church beyond what is declared by the scriptures, and confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

Come on - isn't it about time that we formed culture into the likeness of Christ, rather than the spirit of the age shaping us and our message?

A God-moment

A number of years ago I was invited to be an adult leader at a Christian youth camp and I willingly agreed to assist. Adolescents experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit often manifest an introverted innocence and yet a bubbling fountain of spiritual delight and growth and I find this crisis point an amazing place for ministry.

Amid drama classes trying to construct a humourous skit with a strong Christian message, group ministry with young people trying to come to terms with hormones let alone the presence of God, and sport opportunities which ended up with me chasing fit teens with half my wisdom, the men's voices (boy's voices?) were given to sing a chorus from the Jerusalem Passion entitled 'This is My Body". Beautifully written, it had a profound effect on the large group of boys every time we practiced.

On the concert night back in the city church where all the parents and many others gathered to hear the concert, we sang this piece of music and after we finished we did not receive the usual polite applause mixed with parental comments of approval. Rather, there was a complete silence so spiritual in nature that no-one spoke; everyone was very expectant that God was present and it was holy ground.

A minister took the microphone and said simply, "let's pray" and we did.

As I look back on that moment I am struck by one emphatic, recurring thought; the church has to plan and organise itself, and give shape to its ministry so that many people can participate and be reached. This is right and good. However, the great works of God come when we respond to Him in a moment of grace; when all the sermons, praying, home groups, missions, fetes, fellowships and conversations are still and we must act out our story of grace now, where God must be manifest in one of His people now; and they must minister in the power of the Spirit now.

Are you sensitive to these moments? Do you act now?

When these God-moments come, move with the wind of the Spirit of God and follow where He leads. You will never forget that moment when you see and experience God do something unannounced.

Untainted Pentecost

I think I am becoming a Grinch! I love Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday and I keep these days as sacred holy-days on my annual calendar. I love Christmas because the idea that God would choose such lowly means to proclaim His greatness and to disarm human ideas of power satisfies some deep, quiet, reflective part of my own life. But how the commercial world has taken these celebrations and formed them into offerings to the god named "Money" tears at the fabric of these spiritual days and it is increasingly difficult to keep them as holy-days.

This is why I love the observance and celebration of Pentecost. The commercial world has found no way to exploit its inner meaning - that God has poured His person, mind, power, passion and revelation into the lives of His born-again, Jesus-following people. This is a genuine case of the "haves" versus the "have-nots" all determined by God.

I have attached a specific image to assist me in appropriating Pentecost for myself this year. Yes, I know that it looks like Salvador Dali has finally flipped and tried to paint a surreal pizza, but that is not so. It is a painting by Alexander Sadoyan, and I like it because you have to examine it very closely to try and grasp its expression of Pentecost. Tongues of fire, undefined people shapes, and moving scenes of colour make the subject matter not immediately apparent.

At the fire of the burning bush, God engaged Moses in the work of making a people of God. The journey through the desert, and all the trials of Joshua etc... ended with the Promised Land fitted with a temple and a fully formed God-society of people. With the tongues of fire at Pentecost, God engaged the New Covenant community in the making of a people. And they were sent out to proclaim the Gospel and manifest this Spirit in the world. We, the Church, are still part of this "making of a people" by participating in the Gospel and manifesting the Spirit of God in the Church and the world.


So get yourself among your Church community, and participate again in the wonderful day of Pentecost, asking God to again fill you with His Spirit and be a part of the "making of the people of Christ", through the Gospel and manifesting the Spirit in your life.

Where two or more are gathered

An elderly saint in our church approached me recently, saying she would like to conduct a weekly prayer meeting in her home. Although our church already has 5 opportunities for corporate praying not including Sunday worship, it was instantly decided that this would be a great endeavour. As a Christian fellowship we have a specific calling to prayer and take it both seriously and joyfully.

I announced to our people that this new prayer initiative would be beginning soon, and asked everyone to consider if they are able to participate. As of me writing this post today one person has indicated that they feel called to put their life and energy into this gathering.

So here is the situation. Two Christian women will meet together once a week and pray together for all those matters that the Holy Spirit lays on their heart, or to intercede as per requests made by individuals. Sounds small-time and low-key, doesn't it. Two people in a lounge room talking to the air in the hope that a God who is ever-distant will hear and take time away from important matters to respond?

This is so far from the truth. You see, there is no such thing as "small church". Where two people pray together, Jesus promises to be there with them also interceding, and this makes this gathering one of the most powerful entities in the universe; something way above human energy, wise counsel, political momentum or the will and mindset of an entire democracy; something intangibly spiritual that can affect people's lives and the turn of history.

Can you see this? Do you experience the power of God when faithful disciples of Christ pray? Catch the vision, join the chain, and unleash the power of God in and around you.

The Upturn

In the ebb and flow of Church life over many years, many of us have observed the changes in our church community. There have been times of amazing growth as new people repent and believe in Jesus, the baptismal font is used regularly and we see the ministry of the church expanding. There are also times of great stagnation where although a church is bustling along it appears to be the same old faces. And then there are times of decline where we find it difficult to see God's "church triumphant".

In our church, we are coming off the back end of years of decline. A church community that used to be part of the heart-beat of the broader local community is now struggling to find a strong voice or position, and is struggling to establish platforms for the Gospel to be communicated.

However, in recent days we have seen a number of visitors, and a few of them from deliberate ministry in our local community. There is this niggling understanding that as we have prayed and acted AFTER God's leading, that the Lord Jesus is rebuilding His church and we are a part of it.

So if anyone out there is discouraged and cannot see what lays ahead. Pray, listen and hold on. It can often seem as though God has His fingers in His ears or His face turned away, but this is how we FEEL, not an indicator of the truth. Even if you do let go, understand that God does not let go of those who are His own, called according to His purpose.

A relevant Gospel

In 2006, the Churches of Christ Conference for Victoria and Tasmania asked all participating churches to send in their vision and mission statements so that a logo or document could be designed to express the themes common to all. At the recent AGM, the logo to the left was unveiled.

It is called the Theme Tree and if you look closely you will see a lot of words used in Christian faith and practice combined in an image of a tree representing connection, depth and growth in a Christ-centred community.

Having not been to a Churches of Christ AGM before, I found it very interesting to sit back and listen for the common language used across the denomination: revealed were words such as story, conversation, narrative, dialogue. All these words express a desire to relate the central truths of the Christian faith to this day and age in a way understandable to them, and respectful of their culture, mindset and formed views of life. Also dominant were the themes of unity, and developing local churches that strive for New Testament form.

In many of the conversations held on the ministers day , many people spoke of, or implied, that they are striving to make the Gospel relative to the 21st century in Australia. Although I understand this line of thinking, I am wary of it. Let me explain!

I do want to make the Gospel available and understandable to my generation in language they also use, using images they already see, using methods that do not alienate. But I don't believe that the Gospel is relative to anything. The Gospel is a perfect, absolute entity given and crafted by God and we have no right to alter it to make it relative to a culture or season. The aim is to make it RELEVANT, not RELATIVE.

The Gospel was committed to the 12 by Christ, and they committed it to the next generation of ministers and so on... We have the unenviable task of preaching an unchanging Gospel to a western world where everything is considered relative to the preferences of the individual. Yet in the mystery of ministry with God - it still works. Because the Gospel and the Holy Spirit together can break through any barrier with the eternal good news of Jesus Christ, this everlasting message can penetrate a relative culture. But don't be drawn in to making the gospel relative to their circumstances. Rather, draw them to the eternal truth that the Gospel relates to all peoples of all times.

Go on, get out there and give it a go.

Rain

Having been brought up in the country, and being a minister in two rural communities, I have a spiritual attachment to, and regard for, the Australian bush and landscape. The current 10+ year dry-spell/drought has been an agonising period of suffering and hopelessness for many farmers and rural residents. Although there have been glimmers of hope over these years, it has been a geographical and emotional wilderness.

The rains over the past week have been a beautiful, cold blessing of the earth and nature has woken up. Birds singing, plants plunging roots down into the sodden earth trying to establish themselves, new growth on gardens long deprived, and even water running in creeks and waterways that have been dry and barren.

I don't know why our country has suffered for so long under a dry sky. Is it nature's cycle and this part of the earth needed a dry spell to balance and nurture the global climate ? Has human intervention caused our world to lose its sense of balance from which it may never recover? Has God stepped in, declaring that the people of Australia need judgement imposed on them in some form to awaken them to their immorality and Godlessness? In the large cycles of this worlds development are we moving into a dry age, as we have had an ice age in the past?

I don't know, and although it may sound indifferent, a part of me doesn't care!
Let's switch off our analytical brains for a while and simply REJOICE. Go and stand on the verandah at home or the foyer at work or the shelter-shed at school and listen to the sound of rain; watch it as it gathers and runs; listen for the voices of birds and let a smile not only alter your face but warm your heart.

Thanks God for the blessing of rain on a sunburnt country.

Struggling to pray for others

Many of us have had the experience of being really moved and inspired to pray for someone else, but due to our troubled mind, the complexity of the person's situation, or lack of knowledge and insight, we have not known how or what to pray for the person. So we close our eyes and quieten our mind - but words will not come! Our praying stumbles and trips along and we feel our prayer is ineffective.

In Ephesians 1:17 - 19, the Apostle Paul gives us some guidelines for intercessory prayer and I have found them personally both helpful and strong when praying for others, especially when words fail me or I am struggling to genuinely intercede for them.

Paul encourages us to pray for:

• a spirit of wisdom and revelation that the person may know Him better.
• opening of the eyes of their heart to know God's hope in life, and the amazing spiritual inheritance available to Christians
• knowledge and experience of His incomparable great power

Now you may think that this is not very specific for a person who may be fighting depression, or battling cancer, or looking for employment, or in the midst of a fragile relationship and you would be right. But AS YOU PRAY THROUGH PAUL'S INTERCESSORY PRAYER ADVICE, your spirit is aroused, your tongue is loosened and deep intercessory prayer can be offered that is passionate and substantial. As you pray in the Spirit according to the scriptures in this passage, some spiritual mystery occurs which awakens the Holy Spirit in you.

And these prayers are powerful, passionate, and very effective.

If you have a prayer journal, or if you use a favourite Bible to pray from, why not print off the scripture passage mentioned above, and keep it near you for those times when words will not come.

Followership

I sat in a gathering this week, listening to some people who had been involved in high level corporate business, and whose lives had totally changed by becoming followers of Christ. These men are now trying to reach into the business community with the gospel, encouraging business owners to implement Kingdom of God principles to operate their business.

One word kept coming across the conversation - VISION. The emphasis was that businesses could not run only to make money; rather, the owners had to have an idea, a picture in their mind of what they want their business to achieve. For example, Bill Gates vision was a pc on every desk. The day was focused on people who were leading others.

As we were talking and sharing, my mind went to the hundreds of people I have known in my life who do not own a business, or have a vision for their life, or who will not "make something happen". The followers of the world (and it is obvious that we need more followers than leaders!)These are the people who work in factories, hospitals, farms; tradies, office workers, call-centre staff.

These people make our world function. They often do not set an agenda or vision - they faithfully and diligently follow the agenda and vision set by others. They carry out the work.

I have been to many conferences and seminars, and heard many preachers declare that this or that is the most important issue in the church today. Pray more, preach less, reach out to youth, reach in to men, do community services, know your community profile, establish networks, change form, the emerging church etc... Many of these things are true and have their place. One very loud voice over the past 10 years has been LEADERSHIP. That everything rises and falls on leadership.

I would suggest that the main issue for the modern church is quieter and more subtle than all of these - followership. Most leaders and ministers (both lay and ordained) are trained in leadership, have sound planning and strategy skills, great people skills and pastoral skills. They can also work within a leadership team to produce vision and energy required to work with God in this crazy 21st century.

But the followers must follow. Yes, have your say and debate both the means and the outcome; but please, if your leadership team has consulted you, prayed to our Lord and discussed all the implications to come up with a sense of vision or a new ministry or a change in direction,PRAYERFULLY FOLLOW THEM. Dedicate yourself to following your leader. Not blindly, but willingly.

Too often, followers will not follow. to paraphrase Thomas a Kempis, "your opinion is not as important as you think".

The Upper Room

Many of us will have experienced times in our lives when we have been drawn aside into a separate space for something important. A boss at work calling us into the office for a promotion or a sacking; a family gathering taking place in a loungeroom where details of a sickness or death is communicated; a friend drawing you way from the others to inform you of a personal secret.

Nearing the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus informed His 12 closest followers whom He had designated "Apostles" that He need some special time with them, behind a closed door, where He could take them to the highest point of their discipleship. However, the occasion became something irregular and troubling because Jesus stepped away from parables, miracles, speaking to large crowds and took the 12 Apostles straight to the heart of God's Kingdom. 3 moments in this "Upper Room" reveal the essence of all truth about God revealed in Jesus Christ:

1. Jesus revealed that He and God are One in nature
2. Jesus washed His disciples feet, informing them that servanthood was the essence of leadership according to God
3. All that Jesus was about to go through - His suffering, death and resurrection - was planned and predestined by God according to His purpose

We all need an occasional "Upper Room" time with God - where we hear His call to come apart, rest awhile, and listen and learn from Him in faith and humility.

This 2009 Passion, Holy Week (call it what you will) I encourage you to listen for Jesus calling to you to come somewhere apart and spend some sacred time with Him thinking and praying through His ministry in the Upper Room, and what it means for you in your life today. This is a time of prayer, reflection and quietness where the Holy Spirit can take you to the heart of God's Kingdom, and nourish your spiritual life.

However, be warned! Peter got offended; Judas crept out to betray Him; all the 12 were rebuked as Jesus took on the servant role of washing the other's feet. It be uncomfortable but very good for you.

Above all things

We Australians are often viewed by people from other countries as unusual and unorthodox. Our deep mistrust of authority leads others to believe we do not respect or hold sacred matters which are important.

In the USA, when the President presents himself at any event or campaign, he is applauded and welcomed. His office is held in such high esteem, people go out of their way to show honour and respect.

In Russia, when great orators, poets and authors are on display, the most solemn reverence is shown to them; - literature is respected as part of the Russian culture.

When our Prime Minister appears at a sporting event or on TV - we boo him. We treat sporting and cultural achievers with wary respect, and often cut them down so they don’t get “too puffed up with themselves”.

So, when the Bible asserts that Jesus is above all men; above all creation; above the angels and spirits of Heaven and Hell; that He is Son of God and Son of Man - how do we declare Him in our society without people instantly taking a back step and being wary? Because be assured - Jesus is the One, the anointed One of God Himself who has all things under His dominion and authority.

Will you bend the knee, and bow the head to your Lord with Australian wary mistrust or with joy and free abandon of a person alive in the Spirit ?

Somtimes, you just can't see it!

As a preacher of the Gospel, it can sometimes feel dark and fruitless as only a few people respond to the claims of Christ over a given period of time. In my own ministry there have been years of amazing fruit, and years of barrenness.

However, we often forget the principle of evangelism revealed in Mark 4 - the parable of the sower. We focus so much of our attention on the soil and the sower in this parable we diminish the actual outcome of the parable; where some grain produces thirty more grains, some produce sixty more grains, and other one hundred grains.

If we lead 1 person to Christ, who in turn leads 20 people to Christ in his lifetime, who in their turn lead 120 others to Christ, we are part of an amazing chain of Gospel ministry and the sense of fruitfulness merges into God's picture of evangelism, and not ours. Refreshing, isn't it!

Let me illustrate from an video produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:

1. In 1855 a young minister named Edward Kimballwas trying to reach a young shoe salesman, and it was getting nowhere, until one day this show salesman believed. His name was Dwight L. Moody.
2. In 1873, Dwight L. Moody was preaching in Liverpool, and a Baptist minister named F.B. Meyer became influenced by Moody's style and content and began to revive his own congregation and community.
3. F.B. Meyer toured the USA and at the Northfield Bible Conference a struggling young minister named J. Wilbur Chapman was transformed and he, in turn, became a travelling evangelist with a very influential ministry.
4. In the early 1900's, J. Wilbur Chapman led a young baseball player named Billy Sunday to faith in Christ and this man became one of the most famous travelling evangelists in USA history.
5. In 1934, at a crusade in North Carolina being led by Billy Sunday, a local evangelist participating in the crusade prayed, "Lord, give us a Pentecost here". That day, a young student was born again in this crusade. His name - Billy Graham.

Could Edward Kimball, in 1855, see Billy Graham and His ministry. Not at all. But God could.

So, focus intently on the ONE you are ministering to, and let God produce the grains of wheat from your ministry - maybe one, maybe thirty, maybe thousands.

Reclaim & Rebuild

There comes a time in the life of most churches, when after years of powerful, expanding ministry, a time of serious decline occurs and things must alter in order to embrace a new era - a new generation of ministry in the Church, and in the community. In our wonderful, little Church, we are in such a time now.

The Brighton Church of Christ has been here for 150 years, declaring the Gospel and sovereignty of Jesus Christ, and building the Kingdom of God on these important cornerstones. We declare these inalienable truths again, and remain standing on Jesus Christ.

But if you look into history, there are a lot of ancient cornerstones lying around as ruins. Yes, the strong foundations are still in place; the original design still evident. One of my favourite TV shows is Time Team from Great Britain and they weekly investigate ruins and lost sites. Foundation stones are wonderful and necessary, but who wants to be part of a museum? Who wants to be a point of interest for people to reflect on the past?

So we must again begin to boldly declare the Gospel in Brighton and confront the Godlessness and spiritual strongholds that have advanced in Brighton which have stifled the Gospel. It is time for renewed vigour and spiritual power OUTSIDE THE CHURCH WALLS. Our worship, prayer, and fellowship are all still functional and powerful. Now we need to evangelise this generation.

Lord God, give us your heart for the lost, and a Gospel message relevant to this generation, that we might assist you in building your Kingdom once more. Amen

Sola Scripture

When Jesus was at the pinnacle of His ministry while alive, He had numerous people following Him. There were the 12 designated apostles, his mother and probably other family members, devout Jews, Gentile God-fearers, the lonely, the destitute, the rich; even people like Gamaliel, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. So many people of so many different types, and from different positions in the social and economic fabric of Israel and Palestine.

When Jesus spoke about "eating His flesh and drinking His blood" in John 6, many of these followers departed - they could not accept these deep teachings and spiritual nature of what discipleship to Jesus was all about.

After Pentecost and in the apostolic age, many more thousands chose to follow Him. And throughout the centuries, many of these people have written to encourage us and lift us to Him in faith and action.

Unfortunately, for too many, some of these writings have been elevated to being equal to sacred scripture. Joseph Smith and the Latter-day-Saints; Mary Baker-Eddy and the Christian Scientists; Jehovah's Witnesses and Charles Russell; and we also remember the cults of Jim Jones at Jonestown, David Koresh in Waco Texas, and even the Little Pebble here in Australia. They wrote a list of their preferences, and formed a band of people to follow their preferences, and made their own writings equal to Holy Scripture.

More than any other post-apostolic Christian leader, I respect Martin Luther and His writings, but neither He, the Lutheran Church, nor I declare His writings to be equal to scripture, nor proclaim Martin Luther as a special Christian of a higher order than other "normal" Christians. He is famous for the phrase Sola Scripture - that Christian life, faith and practice and our knowledge and understanding of God comes from the Bible alone. Luther determined that the Church submits to the scriptures, not the scriptures submit to the Church.

It is sad that so many people are so easily deceived, and people feverishly study the words of special leaders, as if it was the very Word of God.

Friends, read and study your bible and listen for God, and listen to God as you read it. Your life will change. And on your journey, read the writings of Luther, Calvin, Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Kierkegaard - they have insightful and significant commentary to make. But their writings are not the revelation of God and do not have this authority.

Read well. Study well. Live well.

As our Church is currently exploring the book of Ephesians, I have had to do some serious study, to get my head around this idea that God chooses people to inherit the blessings He lavished on us through Jesus Christ. Trying to understand that although I have reached out to God and asked for salvation, this action was not initiated by me and never could be.

The Bible teaches that no human being has the the capacity or desire to seek God, that we are spiritually dead in our sins, without hope and without God. So if not everyone believes, it must be that God determines who He gives the capacity to have faith.

The difficulties and worries about this doctrine are usually of 2 types:

1. What happens to those who are not chosen?
2. How does God determine who He saves?

As Jesus chose 12 disciples to become Apostles, this does not mean He rejected all His other followers. As the tribe of Levi was chosen to be priests, God did not reject the other 11 tribes. Apart from this understanding of election form the Old Testament, the Bible is silent on those who are not chosen. There is not much that can be said because the Bible reveals little else.

God determines all things through His base nature - love. He chose Israel because He loved them. He chooses the elect on the same basis.

Some will say that in John 3:16, Jesus uses the phrase "whosoever will will be saved". Does this not mean that whoever reaches out to Christ is saved. Yes, but other parts of the Bible teach that no-one can reach out unless God enables them.

The more important question is - what are you doing with His offer of salvation to you?

The Gentle Power of Prayer

We are in an era in which symbols and images are given the same weight of authority as words, and we are pounded every day with images in newspapers, magazines, television, cinema, DVD and the Internet - all of them demanding attention and a response.

As we move through urban and suburban areas, symbols and images throw themselves at us giving us driving instructions, advertising a product, declaring some event or inviting us to something we NEED..

Recently, here in Victoria Australia, we have been overwhelmed with images of razed homes, grieving people, rolling waves of hellish infernos, sooty-faced fire fighters - even a firefighter giving water to a koala.

For a moment, let there be a new image; an image that will dissolve all other things and make you ponder something which is inherently GOOD. An image of such gentle power that it will remind you again of the power of small things, of gentle things, of sacred things.

A child at prayer - simple, gentle, sacred power that reminds us that Life is Tough, but God is Good.

What God is doing

Over the past few weeks, I have had the wonderful privilege of listening to a series of sermons by the wonderful preacher/teacher Martin Lloyd Jones. I personally consider him to be the best bible exposition preacher I have ever heard - both deep into the Word of God and applying it to the modern human life.

The series was called "Laying the Foundation #1 - God's plan of salvation". I often listened to it in the car amid heavy traffic. It was a pleasant change from the superficial monotony of many of the radio stations, and it even turned my attention away from sports radio!!!

The essence of this great series of 6 sermons asserts again the absolute foundational statement of the Bible: - in the beginning, God ....

Although I wake each day and genuinely hope and try to do my best to live the Gospel and proclaim it through my ministry, the actual point is that all I am, all the good I do, and everything I will leave this life with; it all begins with God and returns to Him. My main job in life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, a bearer of the Holy Spirit, is to have a profound, growing, vibrant spiritual life life through FAITH.

God is not overly impressed by what I do, even though He asks me to do it.
What God is doing is far more important.

So, are you able to discern what GOD is doing, or are your own works being built into an altar that you hope God is blessing? Are you striving for approval, or a faithful recipient of it (it is already fully provided through the death & resurrection ministry of Jesus).

The bushfires

Much of the life and endeavour of the church can be explained in 3 main groups

• Worship to God
• Encouraging and discipling the believers
• Proclaiming the Gospel in the world.

These principles are essential, and it is right and good that we continually focus our attention on them.

However, every so often something occurs in our world of such impact and significance, that although our hearts remain focused on our Lord, they weep and strain for what people around us are suffering. 9/11 in New York, the Indonesian Tsunami, refugee in Darfur etc...

Here in Australia in the state of Victoria, bushfires have destroyed over 700 homes, 181 people are confirmed dead and it is likely that the final death count will be in excess of 300 people. Entire towns have been destroyed, with people's hopes, dream, livelihoods and families laying on the ground as ashes in the dust. Horrible and terrible are words used to describe many mild things but they are appropriate today. Language - even the beauty and height of the English language - cannot help articulate what our minds cannot comprehend.

So our thoughts and prayers are with the suffering, the lost, the hurt, the devastated of Victoria whose lives will never be the same, and we pray hope, peace, repair, healing and safety for each person. And we call on Christians everywhere to show grace, compassion, care, love and openness to any who need us.

Here are a few links to sites where you can donate or get involved to assist the recovery effort
www.redcross.org.au
www.salvos.org.au

An amazing sermon

Have you ever been so absolutely amazed, inspired and interrupted by something, that it is burnt into your memory, and you recognise that something changed for you because of what occurred? I was browsing You Tube the other day, and came across this inspiring and famous part of a sermon by a preacher called John Lockeridge.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2z15FlTONVo

A full transcript of the sermon is at

http://justinsmccain.blogspot.com/2008/08/thats-my-king-by-dr-sm-lockeridge.html

It will stand your hair on end, and put a buzz in your heart. Oh, for more preaching like this!!

The Intimacy of Prayer

When Jesus responded to the enquiry, "Lord, teach us to pray", His teaching would have caused alarm and religious affront to the spiritual teachers and elders of His day. Why?

Jesus is audacious enough to address Yahweh, Jehovah, the One Living God as "Our Father".

If you examine Yahweh/Jehovah/Elohim in the Old Testament, you will see a God surrounded by lightening and fire. His holiness is so pure and perfect, that only certain people, under certain very strict conditions could even touch the ark of the covenant. Moses was not permitted to look on the face of God. We see Heavenly visions of seraphim, cherubim, smoke filling Heaven, and God being revealed in a long gown on a throne. These images make us step back in reverence, awe and fear. He is God - submit and obey.

We can never dispense with these revelations of God - He is Holy, perfect, and we cannot look Him in the aye as an equal. There is a natural response of humility and awe even when we pray as we bow our head and approach cautiously.

Yet Jesus addresses God as Father, implying an intimacy and personal relationship. We see him demonstrating this beautiful, intimate relationship time and time again in the Gospels as He abides in God with child-like trust, passionate intimacy, and a confidence that is unwavering.

We see no cathedrals where the altar is up the very front, and the only person who can approach is the priest. Rather, we see the veil in the temple torn, inviting us into the very holy of holies to have a personal intimacy with God, made available by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus' body and blood. And because of Pentecost, you do not have to go anywhere special, or be any one special to have this intimacy. The Holy Spirit makes His dwelling among us, we are His temple, so just pray to Him where you are in the intimacy of His Spirit in you.

Yes, fear God and obey Him. Respect Him as higher, better, smarter, stronger and wiser than you. Praise Him as the One who was, is, and is to come. But come to Him as your Father. Approach with humble confidence and trust, believing that He desires this of you and loves it when you approach Him as Father.

Un-natural Prayer

I have always found it interesting that on one occasion, after observing Jesus praying, one of His disciples approached Him and asked, "teach us to pray." It implies that although this disciple had been praying, that upon observing the manner of Jesus communicating with His heavenly Father, he (or she) realised that their prayer life was limited and they needed teaching. Read Luke 11:1 - 13

There is the basic part of prayer, the foundational heart-cry of the person who recognises their need of God's activity in their daily life, and so they call upon God regarding circumstance, needs, emotions, joys, triumphs and the daily cares. The Holy Spirit causes a desire for ongoing communication with our God, so close and imminent now because of the New Covenant made in Jesus' blood. And on impulse, we cry out to God.

In this Luke 11 reading, Jesus of course accepts this basic, heart-cry of prayer to His Father, and then also opens up a whole new realm of opportunity and possibility in prayer.

He uses phrases such as: -
Hallowed - implying praise, adoration, holiness
God's Kingdom - that we place God's influence and will as the foundation stone of all things in our life
Daily bread - our daily needs to sustain life or to fulfill God's purpose for our life
Forgiveness of sins - asking God to forgive ours, and empowering us with holy love as a basis from which to forgive others
Temptations - distractions and wicked things to be denied a place of strength in our life
Boldness - don't pray too small
Asking, seeking, knocking - persevering in prayer

And He promises that God will give you what you need, over and above what you want. The phrases "how much more" is a declaration of confidence in God's ability and desire to provide everything we can need, ask or imagine.

Delia Smith once wrote, "Prayer is a whole lifetime's journey into God".

If you are struggling with a meaningful prayer life, ask you minister, pastor or Christian mentor to "teach me to pray", but more importantly, ask Jesus yourself.

But perhaps the most un-natural part of prayer, and therefore the most difficult part to learn, is to wait on God. As you pray or after you have poured out your heart in adoration, confession, thanksgiving and requests, learning to be still and wait for God to reply, or challenge, or discipline, or even rebuke. This stillness is so hard, especially when we are busy or our need for answered prayer is so urgent.

If a salesman is to come to your home, you will only allow him to be late by 15 min or so and then you will wait no longer. But if a long lost son or daughter is to come, you will probably be willing to wait days or even weeks for them to arrive. The principle is this: the more we love a person, the longer we are prepared to wait. Our love of God needs to be strong and overwhelming, and so we need to learn to wait for God, wait on God, being still in His presence and letting Him work in the silence.

So be still, and learn to pray

So much of religion and spirituality over the centuries has really only projected a God "in our own image". We place our hopes and dreams, fears and failings, guilts and joys into animal images, or gods like the Greek Gods who were just powerful, overbearing divine humans.

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who fully revealed Himself in Jesus of Nazareth asks that we do not make up ideas and notions about him, nor does He ask us to blindly reach out to Him in blind hope. The entire Christian faith is based on God revealing Himself, disclosing His nature and purposes to us so we do not have to make things up, pretend, or speak to the wind in blind hope.

He reveals Himself in nature. Soaring, majestic mountains. Mighty rivers and lakes. Thundering storms, cyclones, with lightening.
He reveals Himself in the cycle of life. The lion eats the deer. But when the lion dies, it rots into the ground and becomes fertiliser, that in turns helps the grass grow, that feeds the deer.
He reveals Himself in the cosmos. Planets continually moving, spinning. Stars being made and unmade. Black holes, satellite moons, rings of gas and rock.
He reveals Himself in the amazing human being. Our capacity to step back, observe, reflect and plan. Our emotions, laughter, music

But if we leave our revelation of God there, He remains distant, too much for us, inapproachable, and detached from human affairs.

So we come to the idea of revelation - God showing Himself to us. The bible shows God in the burning bush with Moses

• on Mt. Sinai in fire and smoke presenting His Law
• in the desert in columns of fire and smoke
• in the Ark of the Covenant

Then He begins to really disclose Himself to the prophets. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel receive incredible images of God in Heaven in His power, authority and presence. Images of angels, smoke and fire, spinning wheels of confusion, white light and glowing presence.

But it is in Jesus that God is disclosed to us. In the prophecies relating to Him, His birth, His life, His teaching, His suffering, His death, His descent into Hell, His resurrection, His ascension and return to Heaven, and finally in His promised return.

If you are seeking God, or needing His influence in your life, it is to Jesus you must first go. He is the "way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the father, except through Him".

Church Governance at Brighton Church of Christ

Sometimes we are asked how a church is run, within what is known as Churches of Christ. Broadly, it can be described as “congregational” in style. This means that decisions are made, primarily democratically, based on the voting of the congregation.

 

As a result, the congregation elects its elders, who are responsible for the spiritual decisions of the church. Similarly, the congregation elects its Board, of which, all the elders are automatically members. The Board makes the administrative decisions of the church.

 

Within these two groups, decisions are made democratically also, with “majority” decisions being the constitutional requirement. In practice, almost all decisions are made unanimously.

 

It should be understood that all votes are technically equal. However, the minister, who is considered to be a “teaching elder”, naturally is more influential in both these groups: there is a bias to adopt the views of the minister, noting that the minister is always accountable to the elders, the board, and ultimately the congregation. These are the checks and balances that ensure the church is well governed.

 

The church also benefits from the advice and input of the central body, which is known as Conference of Churches of Christ – Vic/Tas, in our case. This is the source of expert advice when required. However, “Conference” does not interfere with decision making within the church and waits to be invited to assist.

 

The church has a constitution which is reviewed as necessary. Changes to the Constitution also require the approval of the congregation.

 

David Millar

Future Perfect

Training & Project Management Pty Ltd

ABN 27 093 330 959

www.future-perfect.com.au

Phone 03 9696 7933 ext 200
Facsimile 03 9696 9833

Mobile 0408 598 043

Healing prayer is available at Brighton Church of Christ every Sunday from 11am www.brightoncc.com.au
This email is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not keep, use, disclose, copy or distribute this email without the author's prior permission. We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any attachment to this message. We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. The information contained in this communication might be confidential. If you are the intended recipient and you do not wish to receive similar electronic messages from us in future then please respond to the sender to this effect.

 

Welcome Note

Hello and welcome to Brighton Church of Christ Blog.

Over the next few weeks and months, we will be posting more information about our church and what is going on.