A Better Way To Celebrate St Patrick…

…than wearing a shamrock or even drinking a Guinness

Pray his prayer ‘St Patrick’s Breastplate’! 

On the day we remember a powerful missionary pioneer. I’m reminded of what a revolution this man of God wrought by reading Steve Addison’s Movements That Change The World, required reading for New Thing Europe!

Pray this with me, pray it for me, pray it for you and yours, for your spheres of influence, pray it out loud ( unless it’ll get you thrown off the bus)!

I arise today 
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
 through belief in the Threeness,
 through confession of the Oneness
 of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
 through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
 through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
 through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
 through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
 through the strength of the love of cherubim,
 In the obedience of angels,
 in the service of archangels,
 in the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
 in the prayers of patriarchs,
 in the predictions of prophets,
 in the preaching of apostles,
 in the faith of confessors,
 in the innocence of holy virgins,
 in the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
 the strength of heaven,
 the light of the sun,
 the radiance of the moon,
 the splendour of fire,
 the speed of lightning,
 the swiftness of wind,
 the depth of the sea,
 the stability of the earth,
 the firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
 God’s strength to pilot me,
 God’s might to uphold me, 
God’s wisdom to guide me,
 God’s eye to look before me,
 God’s ear to hear me,
 God’s word to speak for me,
 God’s hand to guard me,
 God’s shield to protect me,
 God’s host to save me
 from snares of devils,
 from temptation of vices,
 from everyone who shall wish me ill,
 afar and near.

I summon today
 all these powers between me and those evils,
 against every cruel and merciless power
 that may oppose my body and soul,
 against incantations of false prophets,
 against black laws of pagandom,
 against false laws of heretics,
 against craft of idolatry,
 against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
 against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;

Christ to shield me today
 against poison, against burning,
 against drowning, against wounding,
 so that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
 Christ before me,
 Christ behind me,
 Christ in me,
 Christ beneath me, 
Christ above me, 
Christ on my right,
 Christ on my left,
 Christ when I lie down, 
Christ when I sit down,
 Christ when I arise, 
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
 Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
 Christ in every eye that sees me,
 Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
 through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
 through belief in the Threeness,
 through confession of the Oneness
 of the Creator of creation. AMEN! 

Stand Up, Stand With, Never Bow Down.

Last night in our Esther series which will soon be available here I referenced Confessing Church Pastor Martin Niemoller. He was an anti-communist who supported at first a reforming movement called National Socialism andits leader, a dashing figure with a gift for rhetoric called Adolf Hitler. Eventually he saw where it was heading, spoke out, and ended up in a concentration camps including Dachau. Look what he said:

God’s people were in a desperate situation 2500 years ago in the Middle East. It looked like the end. Their days were literally numbered. That’s why the story of Esther is as fresh as today’s headlines, because we’re living in fearful days aren’t we?

An election year, reeling from social and economic crises that seem to have no end. Our nation is in a spiritual crisis, too – we’re desperate for a fresh move of God in our day!

I preached from Esther 3 as Haman’s hate was heading toward a holocaust and the passage said three things to me very clearly:

We should STAND UP for what we believe.

We should STAND ALONGSIDE those who are being persecuted.

We should never BOW DOWN to pressure to conform to what people think, rather than what God says.

We stand up for what we believe. Even if everybody else does it or says it, a Christian has to first ask, ‘What does God say? What does God want?’ As has often been said, “If we don’t know what we stand for, we’ll fall for anything.”

Then, remembering those words of Niemoeller, Christians should never be known as the haters, the racists, the bigots. Jesus summed up the law in two statements so we can judge everything we do and say by them: 1) Love God 2) Love your neighbour. Questions?

It’s to the everlasting shame of the church that so much terrible anti-semitism and the crusades were committed in the name of Jesus, a Jew, who commanded us to not stand against them but Stand with them, even though ‘they’ are of a different race, history, sexuality or opinion. We are to go and do like the Good Samaritan. When you see them isolated hurting and battered – go toward them and help them at cost. Go and do likewise. Cross the road toward them, don’t walk away.

And now who are the most persecuted people in the world these days? According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular group, 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians, that was a year ago. Things since then have got a lot, lot worse. The Centre for the study of Global Christianity in the United States estimates that 100,000 Christians per year are killed simply for being Christian. That’s 11 an hour for a decade!

Christians face official discrimination in 139 countries. In Malaysia, for a Malay to become a Christian is a crime. In Saudi Arabia to have a Bible is punishable by flogging. In Pakistan the way to get rid of a Christian neighbour you don’t like or seize his business is just to accuse them of blasphemy against Allah. In India Christians are regularly murdered by extremist Hindu militias; in Iraq the number of Christians has been cut from 500,000 to less than 100,000. The last Christian has left Mosul after warnings from ISIS to convert or die. In Syria, in Libya, it increases, in Nigeria the killing of Christians by Boko Haram while churches burn has become so routine it’s no longer even newsworthy.

Perhaps  a question you might ask of someone asking for your vote this year would be, ‘What are you going to do to help and protect the most persecuted people on the planet?’

The Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity, is now perhaps the greatest battleground for Christians, as it has been so many times in history. This week we’ve all seen at least something of the murder of those 21 Christian young men, all in their early to mid-twenties on the beach, by ISIS?

They were members of the Egyptian Coptic church, one of the most ancient churches in the world. A tutor of mine at theological college had the cross tattooed  on both hands at his ordination in his order, so that he could never deny Christ under pressure. ISIS YouTubed their evil as they beheaded those ‘people of the cross’ – in their early to mid twenties, on a Mediterranean beach.

What has not been widely reported by our media is just how Christian they really were, that martyrdom is not just something that happened in history, that they were selected and killed because they said Jesus is their Saviour.

Those who have watched, like their families, see the men who died are singing and praying to Jesus. While the killers digitally enhance themselves to make them loom larger, the most powerful people on that beach are not those standing with knives, but those on their knees.

The brother of two of them was interviewed in Egypt and says he was glad to see them singing and saying his last words together with friends, ‘Lord Jesus Christ’. He said, “Since the Roman era, Christians have been martyred and have learned to handle everything that comes our way. This only makes us stronger in our faith because the Bible told us to love our enemies and bless those who curse us.”

I said last night perhaps the reason those young Christian men could exude such peace under pressure is because their heroes of the faith are martyrs (like the Theban Legion), whereas ours are ‘Your Best Life Now’ prosperity pundits with perfect teeth?

The interviewer asked about forgiveness and what they would do if face to face with those who killed his brothers. He replied, “My mother, an uneducated woman in her sixties, said she would ask [him] to enter her house and ask God to open his eyes because he was the reason [her sons] entered the kingdom of heaven.”

Beshir then prayed for the killers: “Dear God, please open their eyes to be saved and to quit their ignorance and the wrong teachings they were taught.”

They had been tortured and told they’d go free if they denied Christ, but they would not. So they were killed on that beach. They had that Mordecai spirit that would not bow down to fear and hate. They stood up for what they believed – no matter what. They wouldn’t bow down to evil. And ultimately, that’s how we become more than conquerors. That’s what makes Christians overcomers. Not grabbing a sword and fighting back, but fixing our eyes on Jesus, whatever happens.

Follow Your Star! Bob Ekblad speaking at @wtctheology residential

Bob Ekbald. At @wtctheology Residential

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The Magi arrived in Jerusalem. They have been on a quest for truth. Aren’t you? Herod, who is the king of the Jews is agitated by what they say and calls the people and priests together and they know the information of where, but not when and whom.

Because these seekers need to discover the truth for themselves.

The experts can only point a direction, but you have to go. They get told, go, search, carefully. So they do.

Then they went THEIR way (not his) and a star went before them, and when they saw the STAR (not the Christ) they rejoiced.

Why did they rejoice ahead of the final destination? Because they same Spirit that brought you this far will bring you all the way.

Then they came into the house, and fell down, and worshipped him and presented him with gifts, and then headed off ANOTHER way., to their lands.

Not the way they were told by Herod.

It takes courage to go your way.

Titus 3:4-8 when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God wants to make us heirs. We can count on that. So persevere, follow the clues. Your star is leading you to Jesus. It may be a long journey but you’ll get there yet.

In Case You Missed It – The Real Meaning Of Christmas.

Seeing as tomorrow I start teaching on the faculty at WTC, I came over all theological today and reread through one of my favourite books, St Athanasius’ On The Incarnation.

I used to read ‘A Christmas Carol’ every Christmas before I was a Christ follower, now this instead is my favourite Christmas book, and it’s a lot older than Dickens’ classic that they say saved Christmas.

A key question we all have to grapple with and especially those of us who are honoured to preach, especially at Christmas or at Easter, is “Why did God – Christ, become human?”

http://www.theologynetwork.org/Images/content/thumbnails/Athanasius-Incarnation-pic.JPG

I love that Athanasius used analogies to explain it. I’m always thinking in analogies (it really annoys Zoe! She says ‘No it’s not like this or that – it is what it is!)

But seeing as God had never become human before – he had to use analogies to explain it. And some of the pictures he used to say, ‘this is what is like’ can help you and me. They can explain or show us the reason today when someone has questions about Christmas, about what we call the incarnation and why it happened that God ‘took on flesh’ – what difference it makes that God became a baby at Bethlehem. The infinite infant.

This book is like the very first Alpha course, written to a young man by the name of Macarius (I think he may have played for United a few years back) who had just become a Christian, so now the Bishop is instructing him on the basics of what Christians believe.

Athanasius, the humble man from Egypt who never wanted to be a bishop, starts out by talking, like John’s gospel did, about the Logos, the Word of God, saying that the Word has originally existed without a body but ‘he has been manifested in a human body for this reason only – out of the love and goodness of his Father – for our salvation .’ Love is what it’s all about. And it’s personal – he did it to save us.

If you read any of my free OMG material you’ll find my favourite story from Athanasius about a stolen boat recovered that explains that part really well.

He goes through the story of the Bible, starting with a perfect creation, ending up with people – created too but different to all of the rest of creation in one major way, only people have the image of God. ‘He bestowed a grace which other creatures lacked- namely the impress of his own image, a share in the…being of the very word Himself.’

Then he writes about what Christians have historically called the Fall – we don’t like to hear about this these days, but people had a choice, and chose to rebel!

Why does that matter? Because that is the reason why the Word became flesh. ‘It was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down. Our transgression called out his love for us – so that he made haste to help us and to appear among us. It is we who were the cause of his taking human form and for our salvation that in his great love he was both born and manifested in a human body.’

I just love reading this because it explains our story or ruin, and God’s story of rescue; ‘The human race was in process of destruction….The work of God was being undone. The law of death reigned – and from it there was no escape. What then was God, being good to do? It is impossible that God should leave man to be carried off by corruption – because it would be unfitting and unworthy of himself.’

He describes how we can’t save ourselves – death had gone so deep into humanity that just repenting and trying our best and turning away from sin would never be enough to deal with the problem. We all needed a Saviour – who qualifies? Only One.

‘Who save the Word of God himself, who in the beginning had made all things out of nothing. He alone being Word of the Father and above all, was both able to recreate all and worthy to suffer on behalf of all – and to be an Ambassador for all with the Father.’

If you are reflecting back on Christmas, feeling like another one came and went – and ‘What was it all about?’ Well it wasn’t about presents, grub and booze – and if that’s all it was to you, you missed out big time and no wonder you feel empty right about now.

If you take a moment to ponder you can find the real reason we should celebrate, why Jesus Christ became a human being at Bethlehem bear in mind these words written centuries ago by Athanasius: ‘He saw the corruption that held us all close. He saw how unthinkable it would be for the Law to be repealed before it was fulfilled. He saw how the surpassing wickedness of men was mounting up against them, he saw their universal liability to death. All this he saw – and pitying our race, moved with compassion for our limitation, unable to endure that death should have the mastery, rather than that his creatures should perish and the work of his Father for us come to naught, he took to himself a body – a human body even as our own.’

‘…taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, he surrendered his body in place of all and offered it to the Father. This he did out of sheer love for us – so that in his death all might die and the law of death there might be abolished. ’

I said he used analogies? He talked about a King. Listen to this, ‘…you know how it is when some great King enters a large City and lives in one of its houses because of his dwelling in that single house the whole city is honoured that enemies and robbers cease to molest it.’ (Ever been to Bognor Regis? It’s a pretty ordinary place. But Regis means the King has visited and left something special there – his name!). That’s the first thing the King does – he graces it with his presence so everything changes. But that’s not all this King does, he comes to fight and win! ‘A king who is found in a city… when it was attacked by robbers, avenges it and saves it from destruction.’ So Jesus coming to earth is like a King who comes to fight a battle, against sin and death – and win, by sacrificing himself!

Then he goes on to point out some other reasons for God coming in the flesh. My favourite is where he talks about how an artist restores a portrait. I love this one!

He says people turned so far away from God that as the apostle Paul says in Romans they were worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. ‘Men bowed down by the pleasures of the moment and the frauds and delusions of the evil spirits did not lift up their heads towards the truth.’

The image of God has been distorted in every human being, the portrait has been messed up! What does God do now? Well, ‘you know what happens when the portrait that is painted becomes obliterated and stained. The artist does not throw away the painting – but the subject of the portrait has to come and sit for it again and then the likeness is redrawn on the same material. So it was with the all holy Son of God. He, the image of the Father came and dwelt in our midst in order that he might renew mankind made after himself and seek out his lost sheep as he said in the gospel.’

Get hold of a copy, it’s free to read online here. Let me know what you think. I bet you’ll love next Christmas even more.

What Wise People Do At New Year

We call them The Three Wise Men, though we don’t know if there were three of them, or that they were men.

We don’t think they were kings.

We do know that they were wise.

They were also a bit late, arriving ‘After Jesus was born…’ 

The Bible is kind enough to spare their blushes, not let us know exactly how long ‘after’ is. They were delayed because they stopped following the star (revelation) and went to Jerusalem to ask directions (relying on their reasoning instead). I wonder how many times I turned up late to the promises of God because I wobbled and listened to the wrong people, rather than follow that star?

Fortunately there they found some people who had more revelation than they knew what to do with, prophecies that said ‘The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem,’ (Matt 2:5) so these foreigners with more faith than the chosen frozen of God saddled up again and got back on the right track.

The story can tell us a lot about the company we keep and how that can make or break us, it can warn us about who we should listen to as we head into our future, too.

But as the year closes out and a new one gets ready to start, I’m thinking about various wise people I know and those I have read about and how they finish an old year really well, to start a New Year better – and what they do and say lines up well with what these wise guys did too.

1. LOOK BACK 

‘We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’

We don’t know where they came from (East is a big place), but they did. They knew God was guiding and calling them and there’s something very powerful about that. Now’s a great time to look back over your last year and reflect on it. John Maxwell says ‘Evaluated reflection turns experience into insight.’ Everyone experienced 2014 – the key word there is evaluated.

Lots of us are having Facebook do this a little for us. I’m getting fed up of everyone’s “I had a great year – thanks for being a part of it’ to be honest, but we all need some method to do this. In the last few days I have thought back through various magic moments in my life in what we at Ivy designated the year of MORE, in the area of my friendships, finance, and family.

I remember hearing RT Kendall say, ‘Count your blessings one by one – you’ll be surprised what the Lord has done.’  Looking back for me helps me think about the ‘it just so happened’ that happened and tie them onto God’s promises and how they got fulfilled in my life which builds my faith so I can pull some principles to help determine where I want to head and what I really want to do next year.

2. LOOK UP 

‘When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.’

It was fantastic yesterday at Ivy as many people shared personal stories of how God has helped through hard times, provided unexpectedly, and answered so many prayers. Church should be the place you come to get your faith lifted! If your church doesn’t do that, if it’s closer to the court of Herod than the courts of heaven, can I suggest you get moving?

People who know Jesus Christ ought to be the most positive people on planet Earth! If God is for us, who can be against us? We have just looked at a whole series on Christmas Hope and as I look again through the nativity story I have no right or reason to be afraid as I look at the future.

God keeps his promises. God loves me enough to come to show me. God understands my ups and downs because he left the ultimate UP of heaven to come DOWN to Bethlehem’s messy manger.

God doesn’t want us to just drift into the future or to let 2015 just happen to us. If you’re feeling lost – ask him! His guidance is personal, his promises are powerful and his directions are perfect.

3. LOOK FORWARD

‘They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.’ 

What do you buy for a baby? I’d be terrible at this. It’s a good job they didn’t get the newborn size because by now Jesus and Mary are living in a house in Bethlehem when there’s a knock at the door. But what each felt prompted to bring was just perfect. Presents from around the world, fit for the King. God was prompting them when they packed at the start of the journey and they responded. They were open to his guidance in dreams and that soon saved the day, then they set off with purpose, back home. I believe if we follow God’s star he will lead us as we step out. Don’t just wait around for something to happen, set a goal.

Nobody ever just went for a walk and ended up on top of Mount Everest.

Maybe the biggest difference maker I find from leaders I read about and respect is they use a time like this to set goals in various areas and have a clear vision for where they want to be, what they want to accomplish in the coming year with God’s help, and why.

The power is in that word why.

If all my goals are about me and for me, that tells me something about who I’m really living for.

Jonathan Edwards wrote, The happiest Christians are not those who accomplish all of their personal goals, but those who embrace God’s goals. 

What are your goals for GOD in 2015?

This year a bunch of us at Ivy set a goal to read the Bible in a year. And we did it. It was so good, I want to do it again. That’s a great goal.

What about a few more specific goals?

For God, family and fun? I’m setting some short, medium and long terms goals for the year. Not too many, maybe 3 or 4 – you decide as you get with God:

Maybe a goal for your prayer life? How are you going to get close to God in prayer this year?

What about a goal for giving to God’s work? Giving more, living more simply and generously. I’m talking about setting some specific, and measurable goals. So when God makes it happen you can give Him the glory.

Goals for personal development; what are you going to learn next year you don’t know now? And where are you going to go to learn?

Goals for Physical fitness? Will 2015 be the year you run that marathon?

What about a mission goal – could following the star that leads you to Jesus lead you on to another nation maybe, helping the poor and spreading the news about Jesus all around the world?

Take some time to stop – and dream again. Dream bigger, and write it down because as a wise person said yesterday at Ivy, ‘A goal is a dream with a deadline.’

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE HISTORY OF IVY CHURCH

I spent a little time this evening looking through a little piece of the history of our church, as I read extracts from the Minute Book of “Ivy Cottage” Mission Hall.

It started as a record of the ‘Womens’ Bible Class,’ then was unused from 1913 to the 50s.

There are some fascinating insights into how Ivy saw itself as a MISSION from its inception, church planting, evangelism, and then that movement became a church as it formalized and hired Pastors to lead it (I’m in danger of doing myself out of a job here) and then started looking at various rules and regulations; and when that happened the pioneering and evangelistic work of women was also truncated. The record speaks for itself and there are some funny things to note along the way.

Many of you will know Ivy started as a men’s Bible study group meeting in a house in 1893. I’ll have to look at their records some time too!

Oct 5^th 1908 – Women’s Bible Class held monthly business meetings and had 218 registered members who attended weekly. If they did not attend they were ‘visited’ to find out why, in the September 94 visits were made – this was about the average number of visits monthly for years – reasons for absence ‘away from home, prevented through sickness, or home duties.’

In 1809 two women were classed as ‘lapsed members,’ through absence, many women were classed as leaders and ‘deaconess.’

By 1913 there were 257 women, no surprises that it grew, you wouldn’t want to be missed! If you were a member and not attending you would be ‘specially written to.’

From the earliest days the records show a remarkably generous church with mission at its heart, giving much of the income to mission overseas and organizing outreaches.

This book stops there and there are blank pages until…

Jan 15^th 1952 when the first Pastor of ‘Ivy Cottage Mission,’ Mr Hunt uses it again.

They agreed that month to do open air evangelistic meetings, and to use an amplifier to do so.

6 Feb 1952 Mr Hunt would be ‘given the liberty to invite speakers and pay their expenses from general funds.’

The same meeting gave away a lot of money to missions, and agreed to arrange ‘an Evangelistic campaign in the new year.’

26 January 1953

Mr Hunt ‘referred to the growth of the mission and that it had been suggested that the time might be opportune to change the name… (to) Ivy Cottage Evangelical Church.’ This was agreed, and a sign over the gate was to be made.

‘Luxury coaches’ were booked for the outing to Llandudno (we know always knew how to party), with food included this would cost £1 per adult.

Nov 22^nd 1954

It was agreed that baptism was not a condition of membership but ‘we were happy to make arrangements for those who believed it was the Lord’s will for them.’

‘It was agreed the elders should go carol singing as in previous years…’

8^th Feb 1956 when there was no minister in charge…

‘The treasurer stressed the need for more generous giving and asked that more friends consider using the monthly envelopes system as this had been a great help…’ (I refer you to my talk last Sunday morning in the category ‘some things never change’).

24^th April 1957

The new minister Mr Lamb came in like a lion, ‘stressing the responsibilities of church membership, full loyalty to Christ and his gospel and to the work of the local church’. Membership cards were introduced.

There was a struggling church in Brooklands, Ivy agreed to support and take that over as ‘a daughter church’ on the Brooklands Estate.

30 Sept 1959

Mr Lamb formally introduced a constitution.

He said it was not scriptural to have women serve on the church executive and this would be in the constitution.

A member asked whether the Pastor could make ‘an appeal’ at the evening service, the Pastor stated he would do so when he felt lead to do so.’

26 Oct 1960 was a TUMULTUOUS Special Meeting!

A member had asked that the constitution be amended ‘Because

1) Since the introduction the church had declined and become discontented and the members were divided because the ladies were denied seats on the church executive

2) Even if scripture taught that the government of the church should be in the hands of men we must be modern and move with the times for ladies were now emancipated

3) Ladies were in the majority in the church and so they should be in control

7 ladies spoke in support of this proposal 🙂

A Dr Kerr said that item 2 ‘was very dangerous and the argument used could support many false teachings.’

The Pastor could not agree with Dr Kerr on scripture but said the constitution should stand anyway. The final item that night was that Pastor said the piano in the church was to be disposed of and that any member who wanted it could have it.

The constitution was accepted the following January at the AGM.

In the September of that same year a note from Dr Kerr records that ‘the second Pastor of Ivy Cottage Evangelical Church, the Rev BT Lamb, entered into glory on the Harvest Sunday after conducting the gift day services.’

Reading that has made me a lot more wary of crossing the Ivy women!

STAND IN THE GAP

 Notes from talk by @PastorChoco Wilfredo De Jesus

Prayer is necessary, but it’s not a crutch not to do anything. You cannot let your budget dictate your faith. You have to trust God that he will meet your needs. We must MOVE to action

Ezek 22:30

God’s looking for someone to stand in the gap.

Found NOBODY!

Who would stand there.

A gap = place of danger, vulnerability and danger.

These days the gaps are wider.

God’s still looking for those who will engage the gap.

You must engage your community. See your city as your church. Jesus sat with the lost. People who didn’t look like him. Demon possessed men, Samaritan women. He went to them. He wasn’t afraid.

What is sacred is the MESSAGE, not the METHOD. We can use all kinds of methods to reach people.

Fear is the absence of faith.

Nehemiah is living large, then he asks a question that changes the course of his life: ‘How’s Jerusalem?’

If you are not going to do anything, don’t ask!

Nehemiah had to do something. With revelation comes responsibility. Walk toward the need. Bring the kingdom of God outside your church and into the world.

• He PRAYED and fasted – He WEPT for the hopelessness in the city
• He PLANNED – you have to write it down. Many of us like the end product but not the process. How many leaders have been talking about doing something for 5 years, but not doing anything
• He PROCEEDED 760 miles journey. This is sacrificial.
• He PERSUADED. You will face strong opposition whne you stand in the gap, but God is with you, who can be against you.

Nehemiah was not a priest or a prophet, but he was a worker who went and worked for God.

HOW IS MANCHESTER? Where are the gaps to stand in?

When Jesus Got Mad @glynbarrett at Ivy Church

Glyn is a great friend doing an amazing work at !Audacious Church in our city and it was an honour to host him at Ivy Church (Kingsway) this morning. Here are my notes on a fabulous talk.

Mark 11:15ff

‘My house will be called a house of prayer – but you have made it a den of thieves.’

This is that moment – when Jesus gets mad.

When my wife gets mad I get nervous
When my mum gets mad I get nervous

But here’s where Jesus got mad – because he’s come to the house of God, expecting one thing – gets another.

Like when you turn up to a holiday hotel, expecting something fantastic – and get a B & B. When the expectation is high, but it’s terrible when you get it.

You buy the car and it breaks down in the first week.

May our church, our house, never be a disappointment to Jesus!

Church is a house, not a ceremony
Royalty expects a ceremony.

But Jesus calls this a house – it’s a place you live in.

The Gospel says you can come as you are.

The church is not a Ceremony – it’s a house.
Sometimes in a house it’s all clean and tidy and everyone gets along fine.
Some Sundays it’ll be amazing in church.
But our commitment is more than to a ceremony it’s to the house, the house of God.

The church is not a Hotel -it’s a house.

Jesus called it a house, not a hotel.

Hotels are great. We get to assess how good they are and how well we got served and we can rate them on Tripadvisor.

I love that I have no responsibility for the place. They put the signs up about not overusing towels and I want to save the environment but if I want to I can use all the towels I want when I want.

But imagine if I treated my house like a hotel? That’s not what you do in family.

God expects those in the house to take responsibility for some things in the house. If you want the blessing of the house you need to take responsibility in the house.

Church is not a business transaction – it’s a house. 

Jesus came into the Temple expecting people wanting Intimacy with God, but found them busy with the business of church, not the intimacy the house was meant to facilitate.

Psalm 92:13-15

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Blessed is the man and the woman who is planted in the house of The Lord! You will flourish, even in old age! This is a house where we get to do intimacy.

How old are you really?

Next year I’m 50. I’m a grandad to three boys.

If you’d described someone like that to me when I was a kid I would have thought you didn’t have your own teeth and were on the way to the boneyard.

I genuinely don’t feel ‘nearly 50.’ I’ve tried to eat well (thanks Zoe), go to bed every night forgiving everyone and wake up every day knowing I’m forgiven. I have very little stress in my life even though I’m busy because Jesus told me I don’t need to worry about anything. I try to keep fit by exercising hard 5 days a week, I have a day off.

None of that necessarily means I’m going to live forever, and quite honestly I don’t want to because to be with Christ is as Paul says ‘Better by far.’ One day I’ll get a whole new body that’s not subject to decay. But right now this one is, and I’m going to look after it as well as I can – so I am going to go next door now and throw some kettlebells around.

Then I’ll do the EFX workout by Mark Lauren which will, by half way, have me clawing for breath, my muscles aching and my mind saying ‘Why exactly are we doing this again?’

Here’s a free sample of that workout – I have followed Mark’s You Are Your Own Gym for about 2 years and it’s so good I only really ever go to the gym now to swim. Best fitness app available and a great book too. I bought the EFX set and it’s really good, but incredibly tough (Can’t wait!).

And after a shower I’m 25 again and ready for anything the world throws at me

In my book Diamond Geezers I have a chapter on Fitness because this is a very important part of stewardship. God gave you a body to look after, how are you doing with that?

Maybe you think you’re too old for all that? Check out this 81 year old guy then, virtue of RossTraining.com then get out of the chair and as my mate Bobby Joe Edwards (a boxing legend who comes to Ivy) says ‘Step In Da Groove And Move!’

GROWING – How different people change us into different people. Brad Jersak at Ivy Church Didsbury @bradjersak #Bgbg2

Brad Jersak

Woah this was goooood!!  Theology is meant to be accessible and bring life to you. If this grabs you, why not check out the FREE Course ‘Living the Christian Story’ WTC (Westminster Theological Centre) are doing right now. Brad is one of the lecturers at WTC, oh, and so am I. We asked him to speak into our series on how we grow as disciples based on Ivy’s mission statement, KNOWING, GROWING, GOING – focusing on…

GROWING

God is gathering people who are very different, into one community of love – using that community to change us from the inside out.

Luke 6:12-19

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Don’t you wish you were there? Power is coming out from Jesus!!

He picks 12, who will be eyewitnesses of everything, including His resurrection. So the rest of the disciples who go out after them subsequently will be able to check back that it’s the REAL gospel.

Luke lists their names. Notice they’re very different people.

He has this group who grow and go. They’re healing, setting people free – just like Jesus. But notice again, how different they are. There’s nothing very glorious about having a group of people who are just the same as each other meeting together. Having a group of very different people together is a sign of God’s Spirit doing something!

For example:

Matthew would be seen as a traitor to his people. Taking taxes, giving to the enemy and keeping some for himself.

Next to him is Simon, the Zealot – insurgents who would assassinate Romans. This is how terrorism starts. Desperation breeds that.

Jesus puts the two at the same table. The collaborator and the conspirator, get sent out two by two. He’s changing them to become brothers.

Isaiah prophesies one day,  ‘The lion and the lamb will lie down together.’ That’s not a vision for a petting zoo in heaven. It’s a picture for now. A community of love being formed. Reconciliation of very different people, even those at odds with each other. It’s happening now all round the world, in the name of Jesus.

Like Bob Ekblad (another WTC faculty member). Goes into prison every week. Bringing together immigrants from Central America and the poor and gang members and neo-Nazis and they end up in the same room and it’s like ‘Who would we hate the most?’ Everyone who does his Bible studies comes to Christ, because they connect to a God of love. And they pray for each other and are healed.

Brad’s church: They prayed for a strategy, thought they would reach to cool Gen X types. InsteadJesus told them to start a home group in a care home for people with disabilities. They had lots coming, disruptive adults but then the carers came along too and then families with kids who couldn’t sit still came. Then addicts came because they knew it was a safe place to be broken. All so different, God brings them all together.

Look at Romans. Paul’s list at the end we just skip through. Paul’s goodbyes. Don’t skim it.

He’s saying Hi to the people from the Emperor’s household.

And then two people who haven’t got names – they have numbers not names – because they are SLAVES. In the same group as the royalty?

When you get those kind of people together – it’s amazing.

What if you don’t make particular people your ‘target group’ – but make the Trinity your target group, then God will come, and bring His friends.

Think about the apostle John and his brother James. They were called ‘The Sons Of Thunder.’ Do you think they had tempers?

Is there any evidence they did? Ask the inhabitants of the Samaritan cities that rejected Jesus, who they wanted to ‘call fire down on like Elijah did?’

Jesus rebuked them and said ‘You don’t know what spirit you’re calling.’ That’s fascinating in itself… ‘I didn’t come to destroy people I came to SAVE them.’ He’s changing this son of thunder into a son of God.

So later John writes ‘Beloved, let us love one another- for everyone that loves knows God and is born of God…’ Wow. He’s John… Lennon! What happened? A community of love changed him.

How about Peter? Mark 8. Peter gives the right answer to a question and he’s on a roll and gets commended for that. He’s feeling good. But he absolutely refuses the idea of Jesus’ suffering.

Then you read 1 Peter – He says, ‘Don’t be surprised if you suffer for Jesus, it’s precious, powerful.’ What got into you?Jesus did.

And you know how Peter died don’t you? Crucified upside down, glorying in suffering for Christ.

Jesus brings us together to use us, to change us, into the Beatitudes people.

Where do you fit in this family?

Do you wonder if you belong?

You don’t belong because you’re like everyone else. You fit in because this is a family that’s so different.