One Day - Soon

One Day Soon

One day soon, two things are going to happen – the first two of the three R’s of Christianity – Revival, Rapture, and Return. Why am I only addressing two of the three? Because if the first two happen, I hope I won’t be here for the third, but many of you may well be.

Revival – There are many Biblical prophecies for one last great revival before Jesus returns to collect His Bride. The Lord doesn’t want to lose a single one of us so the last great revival is also known as the “end-time” revival. It is prophesied more recently that this end-time revival is very close. Indeed, even I have had visions and words from the Lord about it. Many prophetic voices are saying that it will be very different to any other previous revival in that it will not be obvious at all. It is my belief that it has actually started – in China!! Amos 8:11 says “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” Those days are here and China epitomises this scripture in that people are turning to Jesus in their thousands – daily. Yes I really do believe that revival has started.

Rapture – again there are many prophecies of what is called “the Rapture” when Jesus returns to collect His Bride. It is not the same as His return in judgement, rather we shall be caught away “in the twinkling of an eye” and join Him as He takes us back to heaven with Him.

Return – the return of Christ in judgement is prophesied in some detail in the Bible and particularly in the book of Revelation. There is a period of what is termed ‘tribulation’ for the earth that precedes the return. Many people are asking if we are not in some kind of tribulation already. It is not a belief I share as I am one with those who believe that the tribulation comes after the rapture and before Christ’s 1000 year reign on earth.

So here we are today, awaiting with some eagerness, the final revival, followed by the rapture, the tribulation, and the return of Christ. The Bible says: "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" Hebrews 9:28. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, then the future is dark for you. You see, you can have as much religion as you can hold – but being religious won’t get you into heaven. You can have as much ritual as you wish – but ritual will not get you into heaven. You can have all the morality and piety in the world, but that will avail you little when you come to heaven’s door. You may do great and wonderful work and give thousands to the poor, but that alone will not get you into heaven. You may even have incredible love, but even that, on its own, will not gain you entry into heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no-one comes to the Father except by me,” So it is only through a personal relationship with Jesus that we may get into heaven and be saved.

I hear some of you ask, “What if . . . . .?” So I may be wrong but if I am right then I am prepared for the events to come. I am ready for my Saviour to call me home today. I am ready to face everything to come with Him at my side – no fear, no concerns - because God and I, together, can face anything that the world may bring to my door between now and when either He calls me home or He returns for me.

How about you??

Holier Spirits

Spirits Rising

There are probably thousands of views on the spirit world ranging from outright unbelief in any kind of spirit to the very word ‘spirit’ instilling terror into the hearer. There are those who believe that a Christian cannot possibly have an evil spirit or demon and there are others whose entire ministry is the discernment and deliverance from such spirits. It all goes to show that we cannot all agree on all things all the time. In fact we seem to take a perverse delight in disagreements – a sort of “spirit of devil’s advocacy” so to speak.

However, I don’t want to get too trite or flippant about this as I feel there is a rising expectancy in the air – spirits are definitely ‘on the up’ and rising right now.

There is a great Spirit of Optimism  around the subject of revival.  So many signs mentioned in scripture and spoken of by the prophets are becoming so very obvious to us all. Signs in the weather, in natural phenomena, in the political arena, and in our everyday lives are leading more and more people to pray fervently for a revival. The prophets are also virtually of one accord in proclaiming the approach of the “End-Time Revival” to end all revivals. The Spirit of Optimism is rising daily that such an event will occur very soon.

There is a great Spirit of Hope that the coming revival will herald a new and wonderful church age – however short-lived it may be before Jesus returns to collect His Bride. This hope is hand in hand with optimism for revival and for the Rapture.  Optimism is the expectancy – Hope is looking for the reality.

There is a Spirit of Healing hovering in our midst. Never before has there been so much faith for healing as there is now. As the various cancers and other dreadful diseases strike at our lives and our families, there is a belief in and faith for miraculous healings. This Spirit of Healing is not just the possession of the adult either. It is the manifestation of Holy Spirit in the young too. In our own church we recently had a 4 year old pray for her pre-school teacher’s x-rayed and provably broken arm. Two days later, the hospital was amazed to find no sign of a break on x-ray or when bending and exercising the arm. The Spirit of Healing is on the march right now in your village, town, or city.

There is a revived Spirit of Love beginning to invade our churches and our personal lives. Not just love for those who love us, but a profound love for the lost and unsaved, for the downtrodden, for addicts, for those of other faiths. I am not talking about love as the world talks about it, I am talking about a God-given love for people we may not normally even look at, let alone stop to talk to or help in any way. I call it a “revived Spirit of Love” because for decades, with only very few exceptions, love was a very rare commodity to find in any church and in very many Christians. It is now replacing the old ‘holier than thou’ attitude that was so prevalent in the last century. I suppose it went along with the rather stiff formality of church in those days. With the advent of ‘touchy feely’ church where hugging and kissing is much more the norm, there is a new found freedom to love our neighbours and our fellow Christians too.

These are all God-given ‘spirits’; given to the saints in order that they may love the sinners in the way Jesus loved them. Yet there is one last spirit rising in the church today. I jokingly call it the “Spirit of Slap”. It is a spirit of righteous anger at injustice, lies, deceit, law-breaking, and dishonesty. I feel that Jesus equated to this Spirit of Slap when He made a whip and drove the money lenders and traders out of the temple saying, “You have made My Father’s house a den of thieves and iniquity.”

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I urge you and I exhort you to

Allow the Spirit of Optimism to invade your thinking and your prayers

Allow the Spirit of Hope to have full rein and full reign in your life

Allow the Spirit of Healing to govern every ailment or illness you come across including in yourself

Allow the Spirit of Love to invade and inhabit your very soul. Love for Jesus and love for every human being whose path crosses yours from home, school, office, and supermarket, to peoples you meet around the world or from the world. Let the light of love shine throughout your life.

Allow the Spirit of Righteous Anger help you deal with anything that goes against Biblical principles – but only as Jesus used it to deal with a situation. As soon as it was dealt with He returned to His teaching.

Perhaps I shouldn’t call these manifestations of God spirits of anything. They are precious gifts from our loving Father but I don’t know of any other way to describe them. On the other hand they are manifestations of Holy Spirit – aren’t they??

When convicted . . . .

Let God Show You

Preachers are guilty of rhetoric, and in particular that are guilty of asking rhetorical questions. Well, I suppose it would take too long to go round the congregation waiting for all the answers, wouldn’t it? But every now and then a preacher will ask a question that gets the listener right in the heart. Such a question was asked recently by our pastor as he preached on Sunday morning. “How would you stand with God if you went home right now?” He was speaking about total forgiveness. Thats when Holy Spirit dug me in the ribs.

I’m sure we have all had moments like it. One minute you are sitting there quite happy in the presence of God, thinking your standing with Him is OK. The next minute He reminds you of something and convicts you and you know you have to do something about it. This happened to me recently. The question didn’t matter but the reaction from me did.

My first reaction was, “Surely not? Me, Lord?” I was vaguely shocked to hear the Lord confirm His diagnosis. Immediately my mind went into overdrive as I rushed through my memory banks to recall any incident where I may have hurt or upset anyone. Nothing came to mind – of course – I was probably blocking it out. So I enquired of the Lord, “Sorry Lord, I don’t know what you mean.” Again He simply convicted me although He did give me a clue. It lay in my somewhat caustic sense of humour. I was guilty of at least one, maybe more, cheap shots with my barbed remarks. I thought everyone loved them – they always raised a laugh.

A short time later I asked my wife about this and she knew exactly what this was all about. She reminded me of some not very nice jokes I had made, “all in fun” of course, of a real friend. He had looked somewhat mortified as everyone else enjoyed the moment. “Did I really hurt him?” I asked. “Yes, you did, and you owe him a proper apology.”, she replied. Thats when the Holy Spirit chipped in. “You need to ask his forgiveness.” He said. Now it was my turn to be mortified. I really had not intended anything other than a bit of fun. I mean, I was perfectly OK with others doing the same thing to me as it was the only way I had ever ‘operated’. If you can’t take it, then don’t dish it out. I have a lifetime experience of ‘taking it’ and giving it back. I didn’t realise anyone could be hurt by it.

Oh dear, time for a bit of true contrition, repentance, and maybe some forgiveness coming my way. And all because the Holy Spirit nudged me and I had listened. What if I hadn’t listened? What if I had rejected the idea and ignored Him? Can God forgive me? Not if there is unforgiveness in my own life. So I have sought out my friend and I met him this week to sort this out. It had to be sorted – I had hurt a dear friend. Unintentionally maybe but I have hurt him nevertheless, He deserves more respect than I have shown him although he is too much of a gentleman to say anything to me.

Often, we know exactly what the guilty feeling is all about, but sometimes we don’t. So instead of just ignoring Him, we must ask Holy Spirit to show us and if we are still in the dark, we will need to ask someone close to us. Then we need to listen again to Him while He teaches us some more.

We must not allow breaches in the wall. We have to repair them as soon as we see them – whatever the personal cost. We just have to allow God to show us the way. Then we go and say sorry.

Extra Mile

Going the Extra Mile

In the days of the Roman Empire, it was law that, should a Roman soldier become tired or simply if he wanted a bit of a rest, then he could commandeer any passer-by who was not a Roman citizen to carry his load or back pack for a mile. In my imagination, I can envisage the expression “going the extra mile” as meaning the mile long walk back again after you had carried his load for a mile. See what I mean ??

Nowadays, going the extra mile has a slightly different meaning. It is no longer a physical thing. In most instances, it means doing that little bit more than you were asked or staying with something until completion even though we are not asked or paid to do so. I think it is probably an ideal name for a Christian ministry – The Extra Mile Ministry – sounds all right doesn’t it?

One of the characteristics that marks a Christian out from the crowd is cheerfulness and optimism in the face of difficulties or hardship. Paul often spoke about the “joy of suffering”, the “joys of being persecuted for Jesus’ sake”, or counting everything rubbish compared to the “joy of salvation”. That’s rather a lot of joy isn’t it? And basically, the huge majority of Christians have forgotten the joy of living in all the complexities and hardships of everyday life. We seem more than capable of letting the enemy grind us down with the misery of living in this present hostile world. How many cheerful people can you count in your church? I have to say we have a few in ours and they are like a breath of fresh air just to meet them.

What marks the cheerful people out even more is their willingness to go that extra mile for anyone who needs a bit of a helping hand. And, may I say this as a matter of fact and not of any kind of prejudice, the ones who will always do this are the precious saints who have very little to share but they will always be willing to share whatever they have with whoever needs it. The more well of people are, it seems to me, the more reluctant to part with any their hard earned plenty. It is almost as if they are scared to lose what they have fought so hard for. As Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:14 – Mark 10:25 – Luke 18:25

Perhaps this is what separates the Eastern persecuted church from the Western profitable and wealthy church? Certainly, the Western churches, on the whole, support many wonderful missions both financially and with goods and hardware. Yet the Eastern church, despite the persecution, seems to have much more fervency, greater giving power, (per capita), and far greater outreach, planting, and  growth. There is more joy in their churches. They go that extra mile with great joy at being able to serve their Saviour even a little bit.

Is it not time for all of us to reconsider our going that extra mile again and again and again – and doing so with the joy of our Saviour in our hearts. The joy of serving Him and our fellow man seems in fairly short supply in Europe and America right now.

We have taken the Gospel to  almost every nation we can think of, and now those nations all seem to be sending missionaries back to us to teach us what we once taught them. Is there a lesson for us to learn in this?

That makes you think a little bit – surely??

TRUST

Trusting God

Diary entry for April 24^th 2012

For years, apparently, the Lord has been trying to gain my trust and, thereby, my total commitment to Him.  He hasn’t had much over much success in that I have given areas over to Him but never every single thing. At this point in my life, enter stage left, my wife. I was widowed five years ago when cancer won the battle with my late wife. Now of all things, you would think that such a trauma might just dent or damage my faith, but not a bit of it. The Lord gave me total peace throughout the whole process of slow but inexorable disease, through grieving, to bringing a new wife into my life. I trusted Him totally with this period of my life.

One part of that process was an extended period of prophetic and healing ministry. We saw miracle after miracle – some astonishing, and some a little less so but miracles nevertheless. I learned to trust God in that area too. My new wife arrived and that wasn’t a smooth ride either, but I learned to trust the Lord in that area too. New areas of ministry opened up – like this blog – like mentoring – and thanks to my wife’s wisdom and encouragement, I learned to trust the Lord in all of this too.

There was still an area in which I wanted to be self sufficient – so I didn’t commit this area to the Lord. I had discovered that testimony is of supreme importance in ministry. Testimony of prophecy fulfilled, of healing, of answered prayer, and so on. My wife started to testify of the Lord’s provision in her life and, more particularly, in the lives of people who influenced her own walk with God. Slow but sure these testimonies did their work and I also saw small but, to me, significant examples of the Lord’s favour.

The arguments are gone and I no longer have an excuse. So now I commit myself totally to the Lord. Every area of my life, every word, every thought, every deed is His alone to use or not as He wishes. My life, my marriage, my finances, my family, my friends, and my church are all His – lock, stock, and barrel.

Hang on to your hats – this could be quite a ride !!