Very much in line with my talk for tomorrow morning where I will talk about what happened when Matthew threw a great party ‘with Jesus as the guest of honour,’ this fabulous talk by a hero of mine will blow your mind about what Christianity is really about.
If you’re a preacher, this is a masterclass in how passion persuades.
It’s hard not to grow a church that reaches people far from God and helps them find their way back when you have someone like my mate Andy Hawthorne in it. In fact – there is nobody like Andy!
I get to have breakfast with him most weeks and he’s one of the people who inspires me to GO FOR IT, by the way, he’s speaking at Ivy Kingsway this Sunday am.
I don’t want you to miss out on connecting to this passionate, uncompromising and gifted man whose charity The Message does so much great stuff he’s been honoured with an OBE.
Watch this video, you probably won’t need to turn the volume up. Below it is what I take from this PASSIONATE talk he gave to a national Youth Workers a couple of weeks ago– watch it here:
http://www.message.org.uk/2014/05/20/restoring-hope-andy-hawthorne-at-yws14/
So…
Keep Mission central. Not only mission – EVANGELISM! PREACH! Preach the cross! To bear MUCH fruit. Not just loving people, of course we do that but we have to tell people the way TO heaven and out of hell.
And that’s COSTLY! But if we are red letter Christians we have to say what he said about now and eternity.
Do we believe this any more? The only thing that counts, the only thing TO count, is disciples!
If we don’t proclaim the gospel – who will?!
The Holy Spirit will come and bring CONVICTION. Don’t we want righteous young disciples?!
Step out! If they don’t hear it, they won’t have hope restored.
John Wesley: social reformer AND he said ‘You have nothing to do but save souls!’
William Booth: ‘Not called to evangelism? Put your ear down to the Bible and hear him call you – to go….’
Let us build rescue shops within a yard of hell!
This is about principles not techniques for healthy church growth
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
The key to healthy church ministry is that it is the CONTINUING ministry of Jesus. Acts is not just the acts of the apostles but the empowering continuing work of Jesus. We can’t create growth.
We can position ourselves close enough to Jesus to follow His Spirit and do what he tells us.
It’s about following Jesus. That’s job 1! And it takes the pressure off.
But if it was all about Jesus, every church would be growing.
Before Jesus does something through us he wants to do some things in us.
Jesus had prepared the disciples for what lay ahead.
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
God wants to do some foundational stuff, he lets us be broken down before he builds up through us. So much is seasonal in how he prepares us, it’s cyclical. Be alert to the season you’re in – if there’s not fruit work showing, maybe there’s root work growing.
We need a harvest vision.
“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Get that ahead of now vision. God gives leaders a grace to see ahead of time. And he is able to do more than we can expect or imagine – that’s confidence not presumption. And you make your plan based on THAT. You see the big vision ahead and work back from that.
At this year (25 celebration) Stuart Bell said ‘hear that founding word again.’ So they say they want to play their part to see the UK come back to God.
If you’re stuck, maybe it’s a vision issue. Get back with God
LOVE where you are. Love your Jerusalem. Unless you love the place, you’ll never love and reach the people.
Ask the Holy Spirit to do an experiment with you to break the barriers.
Constant Prayer
When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
The suddenly of God’s Pentecost starts because of the preparation in prayer. Yonghi Cho was asked how he got that amazing growth: ‘I pray, and I obey.’
Prayer is core to who they are. It grows out of him.
Prayer is not a monologue but a dialogue and he has a lot more interesting things to tell me than I have to tell him.
However you look at church history, revivals worldwide etc. – you see that when people seriously get hold of God in prayer, fasting, things happen.
In Sept 99 they started a pattern of fasting across the church
3 days one month. 1 day the next month.
They have ‘Deep Night’ prayer meetings regularly – create an atmosphere of presence, break through. We have to get hold of prayer and that’s how we advance and are protected. Don’t just have crisis prayer.
The disciples were used to walking to the upper room to prayer. Never assume that people have got the basics.
Cf Willow’s Reveal.
Are the people getting built into regular daily Bible reading and prayer.
Right Leadership – and transitions
There was this strange thing that then took place about how they cast lots. Not the way we’d do it – but there’s something about leadership needing to be right before the Spirit gets poured out.
They had a forced leadership transition. But they said ‘we want someone who has our DNA, who’s been on the journey.
Some parts of the church in the world is it’s hire and fire.
Some parts of the church it’s family.
Both ways of doing it can be problematic.
We have to have a flexibility in our culture where some can be elevated and others not and it be okay and nobody throws their toys out.
Don’t get someone in because of their gift – have they got your DNA? Watch how much influence you give them.
Empowering Presence
Acts 1;8
His church was having an amazing time charismatically and spiritually, lying on the floor having a good time while lost people were staying well away.
The way they administered the moves of the Spirit were not furthering the work of the Spirit.
Look at Luke’s description of the work of the Spirit – it’s a prophetic empowerment for ministry, not lying down.
We have to think wisely about what we do and when.
We can learn to be attractive by being a little more attractional.
Roll on the floor before.
Maybe we don’t have to do everything in one service?
Have a deeper night regularly.
If they had not made those changes, they would never have got where they are – and they see MORE of the Holy Spirit moving and changing lives now and tangibly there – more than they ever did back then.
This is not diluting the gospel, but wise in the way we administer our Sunday service.
You don’t hear ‘My friend came in and was freaked out’
You do hear ‘My friend came in and just started weeping because they knew God is here.’
Have a swimming pool. A big shallow end and a deep end too. Don’t throw them all in at the deep end and expect them to swim! They call theirs ‘Touching Heaven.’
Mission
Most of what church does is aiming at the 20%. How do we reach the 80%
Finally
Nobody gets saved just because the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost . You can have lots of Holy Spirit meetings.
PREACHING MATTERS.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
Do the work of an evangelist.
Lean into specials like Christmas. Where a whole lot of people invite a whole lot of people…
Get people to come, and then keep them coming…
Carefully crafted sermon series are key to reaching and keeping people. Keep people on the journey, and build them into this kind of community…
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were
Everything we want to do comes out of love.
Jesus sets a very high bar; don’t look at her with lust, she’s your sister Don’t look at him with anger; he’s your brother
The fasting he requires is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving those that have nowt. He asked Simon Peter: do you love me?
Yes
Feed my lambs then
If you love me – love them
What else can save the world, our cities, but this love. A people caught up in love. The bible is a love story
Not a rule book
Matt 13:3-9 parable of the sower
19-23 unpacks and explains it.
Jesus is sowing seed on planet earth
Some – hard ground; ‘I just don’t and won’t believe that love story.’
Some had no root; shallow relationship. The first joy of the first date. No depth to the relationship.
And some – it’s wealth that gets in the way. The cares of this world, consumerism is choking out the gospel in the world. Britain is full of rich young rulers who won’t give up their riches, to get through that is impossible for man but possible for God. It needs a miracle. Have we got too much stuff to get it done. Will we give up our name, our reputations. Our brands. For his seed to have more place to grow. To say to God ‘Take it all.’ That’s the place where something beautiful could grow.
A surrendered life is the place of fallow ground where a seed can grow.
God says ‘will you give it all up again?’
When nothing of ours is ours, God has all of us.
It will take that, to see a greater harvest
That love will transform the city, the nation, the world.
When it sees what we give and how we love.
Let’s practise what he preached!
Anyone who knows my wife Zoe well will know over the years she has a great prophetic gift in dreams, really insightful and occasionally scary! The wonderful thing is how they come true in detail. It’s no exaggeration to say that every major move in our life has been foretold in a dream she’s documented.
So the other night she had a dream – about a move of GOD that’s coming our way. This ties in with an increasing excitement I have been feeling, many reporting a palpable sense of the presence of God last Sunday in our service at Kingsway, a number of miraculous answers to prayer here at Ivy recently, one of our sites (the new one at Ivy Sharston) getting over 100 new people turn up last week; and reports from various sites I’m connected to of outpourings in various churches (especially that at my friend Richard Taylor’s church in Wales). It seems the spiritual temperature is being turned up!
Here’s Zoe’s dream, from her notes. The bits in brackets are my explanatory notes.
I was with a few others (women friends/prayer partners) were in an upstairs room – when a storm was coming up outside. I told someone there how bad it looked but they weren’t at all worried by the storm (this was one of the friends who’s a mighty woman of God who has lived through revival when she was in Brazil).
The sea was swelling and then a huge, enormous wave came up, not like a tidal wave – instead it was like the whole of the sea, came flooding in with tremendous force.
It flooded everywhere below us. The house shook but still my friend was not phased by it at all.
When all went quiet I went and looked outside. Everywhere looked beautiful, as though the wave had washed everything and made it brighter. The shore was clean, not trashed like you’d expect after a storm.
I asked the person with me to cut my fringe so I could see properly.
We went down to the shore which was now full of fishing boats laden with fish. An abundance! Fish of all shapes and sizes. I’d never seen so many or such variety before it was amazing.
There were so many that the cost of food went down and even the poor could eat well.
Also beautiful creatures came out of the sea, including sea lions. I showed others there that the sea lions were friendly/tame, even though they tried to bite their teeth did not puncture my skin. I held and cared for a ragged brown one.
Others helped at other boats, because there were so many fish. Some of the boats had landed sharks in them but no one seemed to be afraid.
I asked if Kohl my Grandson would see this and was told, “Yes he will – and he’ll see even more!”
Zoe says, ‘My interpretation is…
There’s a move of God coming that will come with all the force and power of heaven. This is not just going to crash in one area but to sweep over a vast area.
It will come shaking ministries. God is very much in control of it.
It will cleanse our land, renewing and refreshing it.
The Holy Spirit will clean the dirty and remove the rubbish from people’s lives.
Thousands will be saved, people of all different backgrounds, races, colours and creeds.
Cutting my hair so I can see better is obvious. (Anthony’s note; hair in dreams is often a sign of knowledge or wisdom, so here human ‘knowledge’ can get in the way of spiritual revelation).
The poor will eat well – obvious too!
God’s people will not be afraid of the creatures that bite (spiritual attack? People who seem far away from God we’re scared of?).
We will nurture all those who come to Christ and encourage them in all compassion and humility.
People that were seen as dangerous and the enemy, including many criminals and drug dealers etc. will be ‘caught’ too – and born again.
What do you think? I’ve never had such a hard time trying to post a blog post on WordPress. Someone doesn’t want us to get too EXCITED! Are you ready for the MOVE? Spread the word!
Let’s pray – ‘Lord, send the wave!’
GREAT start to our time this weekend, Graham spoke BRILLIANTLY about thinking BRILLIANT. Tomorrow at the Armitage Centre we’ll hear more. Excited to partner with our friends from Christ Church Harpurhey and Vinelife,
It’s not too late to book in – here.
Here’s my notes from tonight…
Around 25 years ago had 3 dreams:
1) a grey man in an old car was showing him round the grey city pointing out all the sin and problems in people, with a grey attitude. Depressing!
Dream 2 – grey man in slightly better grey car saying, ‘We are doing courses to help them’ – that was even more depressing.
Dream 3 – Bright young guy in a bright car, shouting encouragement that told them who they really were and it CHANGED the people! ‘This is how I see you – you’re going to be doing this!’ The city changed!
The church has an old vehicle being driven by an old man. The old man is the old man that was put on Jesus. We don’t need to do that.
God isn’t focused on the old man. He’s not focused on sin. Rom 6 – consider yourself DEAD to sin. His focus now is on RIGHTEOUSNESS, and now he’s only dealing with the new nature.
The OLD self is DEAD.
Speak and live out of the new nature. The old nature is buried! God’s not asking you to go grave robbing.
Jesus appeared to him in a dream saying, ‘Give me back my stuff!’
All that belongs to me- your fear, insecurity, sin – you’re stealing my stuff.
It’s not who you are. I can’t give you this, if you’re holding onto that.
God’s not asking us to work on it but to lay aside the old stuff. Put on the new man! Don’t babysit a corpse.
You don’t have to work that through – you have to lay it aside.
The problem in lots of churches is that everyone’s working on their stuff instead of rising up to be who they are.
2 Cor 5:17. If it’s true that Jesus didn’t just die for us but AS us, so you’re crucified with Christ. Then when you sin, you’re defaulting not to an old nature but a type of behaviour that hasn’t been replaced with something from the new nature?
Consider yourself DEAD to that.
The antidote to THAT is THIS being developed.
Transformation comes with the RENEWING of the mind. Working on my new self. My real self, in community with others who are doing the same.
It’s about learning how to be a REDEEMED community in a RECONCILED society. Because he is NOT holding their sins against them. He already put it on Jesus! So now the way is open for everyone to come for a taste of what they are really like. Enjoying our new nature! We don’t have any hang ups. We’re too busy being favoured, so nobody’s safe from a blessing, because we’re bringing you the Kingdom.
The Kingdom is a new man in a new vehicle.
When you deal with the old nature you have to do that for a long long time.
When God deals with the new nature he can give you a brilliant thought and if you think like Him and think about ourselves the way he thinks about us, that change can take place straight away.
When God looks at you, he sees nothing wrong with you – just what’s missing from your present experience of you and invites you to experience a miracle in that place.
When God comes, he always comes with a gift.
He says ‘That belongs to me…
and THIS belongs to you…’
New for old.
It’s easy to be prophetic when you know its new for old. He’s always going to take that old struggle and give you his new thing.
We all now people who say they’re speaking the truth in love but aren’t. Because they are just saying what’s True.
What’s true will put you in chains. The truth sets you free.
The truth calls people UP, not OUT.
It says,‘You don’t need to be like that – because this is who you are…’
‘You have an image problem? I don’t – because I see the image of God in you.’
You have a choice now, I can carry on that way or see who I am now. My true self.
We need to practise this in our communities in church and take it out so people discover who they are and what God wants to be for them. The fruit of the Spirit is more powerful than the gifts. Because it’s BEING not just DOING. The best sign and wonder is not a miraculous healing but people seeing you enjoying being loved by him. John 17. Develop loving communities that discover who they are in Christ and behave accordingly. Tell people, ‘This is who you are. You’re brilliant! Stay brilliant!’
We need a radiant idea of God and ourselves. I celebrate who he is.
I like myself then.
And then I see people differently, pray for them differently. And it’s the goodness and kindness of God that brings you to repentance.
Repentance = ‘What you’ve thought brings you to a place you don’t like? Think again.’
Our message?
Now you’re reconciled to God, he sees you different than you think. Start to think like Him.
Transformation is in the air, and it starts with ME.
Apostolic communities always think ‘ME FIRST.’ Let it be in me first. Our role is to be the beloved and let people see how much we’re loved. Everyone’s vulnerable to that!
Every one of us is known in heaven already.
cf. John the Baptist – not even known yet, but an angel comes along and prophesies who he’s going to be and how he’s known in heaven. God is going to release that identity, no just through prophecy but through scripture.
God told him to JUST read and study Ps 91., and keep on doing that. He did it for months. ‘For where I want to take you, I need you to live in Ps 91. This is your inheritance word.’ It’s all about warfare.
God does scripture different than us. He didn’t write it in a year, he doesn’t expect us to read it in a year. He wants us to find our inheritance in it.
Like Jesus did, when he read the ‘wrong’ scripture for the day, Isaiah 61. He says, ‘This is who I am and this is what I’m about.’ You know when you get a word like that. Every promise there is for you. Everything they had, you can have. How many of us have had experiences of scripture where it’s come over us and we’ve gone ‘Oh wow that’s me!’ Lay that alongside that scripture. You have permission to have that promise. You have permission to be that person.
Write it out and read it out to the Lord, saying ‘I accept this upgrade in my identity.’ Because his resources are not tied to your behaviour but your inheritance. It’s not just about getting your needs met. That’s the baby end.
It’s to do with the inheritance. How God sees us. Your identity has glory, power, authority attached to it because he doesn’t do things by half. He sees us so differently. We get to declare, ‘This is who I am! I agree with God!’
Q. So how do we transition away from a Pastor/teacher foundation of church?
That foundation is not able to bear the weight of what God wants to build.
The apostle/prophet is the foundation.
There is no equality there. We’re equal in the sense of being loved, but not power.
teaching ministries go best with a prophet as best friend. You need partnership at all levels.
The apostolic and prophetic need to partner with pastoral ministry. Otherwise you have a ‘present/past’ pastoral ministry, that never moves on to future/ transformation.
Jesus has planned a transformational moment for us that can do 5 years work in 5 minutes! That’s why you need the prophetic and pastoral in there too.
Evangelists need to work with apostles and prophets. Because apostles and prophets are always trying to walk around the old stuff that’s in place, and because some apostles aren’t really they’re just freaky – and you have to pay to be their friend? Really!? Apostles produce sons, not associates.
I believe more in apostolic cities than apostolic networks.
There’s a lot of power at work in these stories collected by Mark. Power can be abused with terrible consequences. The whole creation has been hurt by the ABUSE of power but Jesus puts it right and reverses and renews it by the ABBA-use of power. By the end of Chapter 5 it’s 4-0 to Jesus. he beats the storm, the devils, sickness and even death. It’s breathtaking!
The disciples were beginning to see many signs of who Jesus really was. The messiah? Yet different than what they expected. God was seen in the OT ruling over and subduing that place that was most scary for the Israelites – the sea. The boat is a traditional picture of the church, and it’s buffeted by the world. That’s an encouragement to them. ‘Do you not yet have SUFFICIENT faith?’ There’s an old kids song we used to sing – ‘With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.’ Do you smile? Relax! Jesus is with you in the boat and he has the power you need.
Nobody is asking for help here – but God breaks in and destroys the work of the devil. The neighbours were scared by the power of Jesus, that’s why they wanted rid of him. His power is let loose here as a foretaste of salvation coming to the Gentiles. Satan has brought humiliation and torment, Jesus treats him like a human being and dignifies him by delivering him. Jesus also sends him back to community, and sending him out as a messenger. Jesus here gains a foothold over the enemy territory, and a stranglehold on the enemy. These days we can hide ourselves away and do that which isolates and hurts ourselves. We too can receive total deliverance.
This woman has many obstacles to healing. No rabbi would help her. Is she trying to bypass the system to get to the power. Jesus demonstrates grace outside the rule. Turns religion on its head and calls her ‘Daughter’ not sinner. Come to him! Bring your mess, in faith.
Arise = be resurrected! This is actually only a resuscitation. Jesus never panics like on Casualty. Not even concern. He is free from the agenda of the people, he’s servant of all but not mastered by anyone’s agenda. He knows he isn’t omnipresent. So he gets there when he can and does what he can do. And he has power over death. He even brings his disciples in on seeing how he can bring life back. He comes to your dream and passion and says ‘Come and wake up!’ We can pray ‘Talitha Koum!!’ too.
Jesus is the eternal source of divine power and he has not stopped! Don’t let anything get in his way. The only thing that prevented Jesus unleashing many miracles was UNBELIEF. You can pray, ‘Lord I believe, help me overcome my unbelief.’
My notes below from a great talk given yesterday by Gary Clarke, leader of Hillsong London.
We were hosted in Stoke at Breathe City Church, which is led by my mate the fantastic @mrjamesgalloway
We learn through trial & error.
Church growth isn’t one specific thing & if I keep doing that it will grow.
Rick Warren recently said people think of growing church like this… a small church is like a kitten that over time grows into a big lion.
No, it’s an elephant! A different thing all together! (I could reference you back to our itunes page and my talk on this at Ivy AGM in January about church sizes and cultures).
Reading – 1 Sam 13; Jonathan & his armour bearer
The Israelis were in a tight spot with nothing going for them.
Ever felt like that?
How do I get out of that?
We have to have that ‘this is what I can see’ – when nobody else can see it.
We have to have that inside of us, even if nobody else can see it I can. The leaders job = see it and get others to see it
Chapter 14 is when Jonathan steps out: One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armour-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.’
We are not supposed to be the ones who just camp out and average . Saul represents the average. There had been thousands in the army but they’d declined back and now hundreds of average were gathered under a pomegranate tree. Lots of people had deserted – some went and hid in caves, and some even went to the enemy.
Jonathan started to have something stir..
Vs 4 – he had to go!
Jonathan said to his young armour-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.’
To do what? Not to fight the whole army but to check out the outpost, 25 men . He said, ‘I’m not sitting around waiting for something to happen.’
Notice that very important word – ‘Perhaps..’
‘Do all that you have in mind,’ his armour-bearer said. ‘Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.’
His armour bearer was with him ‘heart & soul.’ Ok – let’s go out on a limb. If it works we win, if not, we’re dead.
And they fought & won!
In that first attack Jonathan and his armour-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre…
THEN. Suddenly!!
God stepped in. There was panic! An earthquake! Victory!
And then Saul and the average guys, and even the ones who had gone to the pub joined in too.
Let’s start at the end – and work back through the story again.
At the end we have revival. The ones who had disappeared came back – because God had done something.
But…
What got God in?? What got God involved?
We are waiting for him to get in – and he’s waiting for us to give him something to get in on!
Notice the motivation here. When Jonathan speaks to his armour bearer, he says ‘God will bring victory to ISRAEL‘ in other words, it’s not about us.
And the armour bearer never gets named. He was willing to take a place where there is no recognition.
The pressure is on to be a name. We have this desire for prominence.
But when we attempt greater things for God it must be, ‘I’m doing this because.. the people need Jesus!’
God saw two people declaring an intent together to do something risky and he stepped in with them.
The people around you will stop you or propel you.
Question: Do you let other leaders know ‘I’m with you – heart & soul.’ ?
If I’m going to see it happen, I’ve just got to get the right people around me. They’re not driven by their own agendas. Don’t put people around you who have their own agendas!
But here were just two people with unity – taking the same risk, ‘Trust God or die,’ and God said ‘I can do something with that!’ They did something small, but it was big to God, who sees the heart.
Notice also the armour bearer’s response: ‘Do what you think best.’
Not, ‘Did you really pray about that?’
‘Did the elders approve?’
‘What does everyone else think?’
The board – were under the tree! This guy was really with him. We have to build these values into our lives.
Notice, Jonathan never said ‘God said’ – that gets bandied around far too much. And then if you got it wrong, God was wrong!?
‘Perhaps the Lord…’
Based on what? He was Saul’s son, he would know God was the one who parted the sea, trounced the giants etc. He had this personal conviction, ‘I know God and I know how he works. So I confidently take steps.’
Leader – it’s not the words you speak in vision, it’s the quiet confidence that says to others ‘She knows God, and how He works!’ People follow that.
Meanwhile, average is sitting under a tree praying for a revival. But Jonathan took initiative in the face of challenges.
The truth is, what he did wasn’t outlandish – a 50/50 chance – but it sure looked like a big thing to average.
The leader takes initiative but we need the right person followers. Will you follow right? We have to find people who can follow our initiative. Not just take their own.
And we don’t have to know everything first to be action oriented. We have to be able to say about some things – ‘that’s God’s problem.’
When people say ‘What’s your plan?’ try this answer, ‘I’m trusting God.’
The only thing we know about the future is ‘He’s in it!’
The only way we got here is that he got us here!
If you look back at what you came through, the mountains you faced don’t seem big anymore – when you look back at them. They go from insurmountable to insignificant.
This is where faith comes in.
As you take the giant on, he becomes food for you to fight the next one. Every step of the way there are giants and mountains to face! But if we can see the other side, take others with us, we’ll see that change only God can bring!
Here’s my notes on Carl’s recent talk when we were at Soul Survivor, Watford. Great stuff and it was a sell out! Looking forward to playing at home for the ‘North’ version in January! Details of that so you can book in here (why not organise a group from your church?);
http://www.new-wine.org/events/mens-daysIron Sharpens Iron
IRON SHARPENS IRON
Life’s up and down, and often gets very hard – and we men retreat too often. Testosterone gives us ‘fight or flight’ but we run too much too soon, rather than go through the muck and mud.
Romans 5:3 says ‘We glory in our sufferings’ why – because of what it produces! If we didn’t go through this we’ll be spoilt brats who sulk when something goes wrong. 9 out of 12 apostles were killed. William Carey saw his wife die. Peter preaches and sees 3000 saved, Stephen says, ‘I’ll have a crack at that.’ And gets 3000 bricks on his head. This helps us understand why so many men are down and depressed. The measure of a man is how you hold up in those times.
When you gave your life to Jesus, you got a target on your back. Carl had a medium once say to him Christians GLOW. Those who know who they are in Christ glow more strongly!
Paul the apostle was known in hell. (The sons of Scheva weren’t).
You are known in hell, too.
But what are you known for!?
Picture of a bullfight. The bullfighter stacks everything in his favour. He has helpers who put spears into its neck, so its losing blood. And all it can do is look at the ground. That’s how our enemy works. To get us men looking down. Men with spears in them.
But the Holy Spirit keeps saying, ‘Look at me! Look up!’
The enemy wants to take you out.
You might be just clinging on. Feeling a fraud.
God says, ‘Lift up your eyes.’
1 Kings 18. Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
vs 22ff
Victory!!
But then look at the next chapter and he’s running from this woman Jezebel, fearful and suicidal.
Fight – or flight!
1 Sam 17.
David and Goliath.
What’s the difference? He focuses on God. Fight!
But he had a wandering eye. He’s a passionate man. And passionate men have a flip side. 2 Sam 11. He can’t keep his trousers on.
Samson was a chancer. Strong alright, but he had a flip side. Your testosterone will take you places you don’t want to go. So how do we stay on the narrow way? How do we not fall?
Or when we do, get up again – because we have resurrection DNA .
This is not about solo Rambo Christians. We run alongside others, and if we do – we’ll get there in the end. We need relationships that are vulnerable and to pick each other up on things and pick us up when we fall.
The more you press into enemy territory, the more pressure we’ll face. We need to be like the army, the SAS, to get close to the enemy so you can be effective – you go into ‘hard routine.’ The enemy is overrunning the church because we refuse hard routine, and instead we sulk when we get a little knock.
The Lord can extract the spears from your neck. So you can lift up your head!
Amazing session of teaching at #cat11 (labs)
Mark Batterson
National Community Church – Washington.
Your leadership cannot go beyond your prayer life.
The Book Of Legends (Talmud). In the first century there was a drought that was killing off the nation. Honi the Circlemaker. Drew a circle in teh sand and prayed, Sovereign Lord I will not leave this circle until you have mercy on your people. He carried on praying for more rain until the rain was the size of eggs. Then he prayed again for the rain of God’s blessing.
The prayer saved a generation.
Bold prayer honours God, and God honours bold prayer. When you pray what you can’t do.
Joshua 6
1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
(God had already done it – but they had to do something).
If your dream is of the Lord, he has already delivered it!
What did they have to do?
3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
A General who goes to his church told them recently about how a perfect plan never survives contact with the enemy. And this is the first battle of the promised land. How about a better plan?
Battering rams? catapults? That makes sense!
What’s this about?
A new way of praying?
Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God, and God fighting for you.
Pray like it depends on God – and he will begin to fight for you! He will make things happen that there’s no way you could have done it.
So they go round in circles…
Why?
Marking their territory?
cf your dog! Staking claim to something. How do we do that? By prayer. Jericho was a 12 acre city, 50 foot walls, 10 feet thick. Intimidating place! First lap they’d feel foolish. 400 years in slavery. 40 more in exile. Then the second lap is a bit faster. Walk and pray – helps you not be distracted. Holy confidence grows as they step out. By the seventh day, they are ready for a holy roar. ‘This place belongs to the Lord.’
They marked out not their territory, but GOD’S territory.
When you don’t know what you’re doing – you have to pray!
And all the promises of God are for you! They are YES and AMEN. Our problem is not over-claiming.
We are not meant to just read the Bible, but to pray through it. When you come to a Promise – CIRCLE it and pray it! Claim it as a promise.
The enemy has taken so much of our property and the Lord wants it back. Mark our territory. Circle it. Matt 18:18. What you bind and loose on earth is bound and loosed in heaven. Put spiritual contracts in place. Pray and pray through.
The most important thing to do this year? Work out how to pray more. Not laying your agenda before God. Discover God’s agenda for YOU.
Doing Reconnaissance.
Gathering information and intelligence. Prayer is how we do this. The Reticular Activation System in your brain determines what you pay attention to and notice. cf Set Life Goals. You probably won’t achieve goals you never set. When you pray you start noticing things – everything. Col 4 – pray, be watchful and thankful…
When you pray you’ll se first and further. Do Recon.
Reading is a form or recon. Conferences is recon. But the best way? Prayer. the still small voice – where you perceive the imperceptible. I’d rather than 1 God idea than a 1000 good ideas. Where do you get them? Pressing into God.
Keep Going.
What if they gave up on circle 5? Some of you have been circling so long. The dream hasn’t been fulfilled. How to write a book? Do a 40 day fast of entertainment. Pray and write till the book was written. Have a deadline. that’s a lifeline for your goals. I’m not coming out of this circle till you do it.
He was once asked, ‘If you had to describe yourself in one word what would it be?’ He said at 22, ‘Driven.’ Thought it was a good answer.
But he was taught how to kneel by his father-in-law, who always had to have new patches in his trousers and kept on keeping on.
We want to take just one trip around Jericho and wondered why they never got the miracle.
Mother Dabney – talked about, coined phrase- ‘Praying through.’ keep praying!
Until recently, he always added (unconsciously) ASAP on his prayers. ‘God would you do this, ASAP.’ I want God to do it yesterday.
Now he has a new acronym for prayer.
ALAIT
As Long As It Takes.
In fact, let it be long enough and hard enough that I’m not at all tempted to take any credit for it for myself.
Are you willing to pay the price?
Acts 2:41 – 3000 people baptised in one place, That’s a goal. One day, as long as it takes.
100 years ago, Gypsy Smith. Never went to school, yet lectured at Harvard. Went to the White House, preached to more than a million people. Powerfully used of God. They asked him, ‘How?’
How does revival come?
He said, ‘Go home, lock yourself in your bedroom, lock yourself in, draw a circle around yourself – fervently and brokenly for God to send a revival to everything in that circle.’
That’s our job.
Anthony Delaney 
You must be logged in to post a comment.