Tired of being luke-warm

I am tired

I am tired and ashamed of being a half-hearted Christian. I have been here, in this place, for too long and I want to change my life – make it count for Jesus.

I am sick and tired of all the gossiping, grumbling, complaining, and dissatisfaction in the church – my church, your church, every single church. I am guilty the same as everybody else and I want to change the atmosphere in there.

I am tired of any Christian television channel that caters more for entertainment and ‘good time meetings’ than it does for the Gospel.

I am tired of listening to preachers who preach a soft gospel. Those who preach prosperity. Those who preach ‘easy come, easy go’. Those who preach with no passion for the lost.

I am tired of ME being such a willing part of a church that has grown luke-warm in its comfortable smug self-satisfaction. “Don’t make waves” seems to be the order of the day rather than “I want to get out of the boat and make a splash as I at least try to walk on water.”

I am tired of a church that hears from God then only does a half-hearted job, not even believing it can do the whole job it is called to do. Do we not know; have we not learnt that God makes a way for everything He asks us to do for Him?

I challenge myself and I challenge you today – every person reading this page – I challenge you.

·        Raise your faith level – it is too low and it shows.

·        Pray with expectant belief not half hearted hope.

·        Promise yourself and God to bring just ONE new person to church if not to faith in Jesus Christ next year.

·        Do something for God that He wants you to do for Him. If you don’t know what that is, then ask Him.

·        Find out what God is calling you to do and ask for His help to DO it.

Whatever God’s will is for you – Just Do It.

Where has your passion gone

Where has your passion gone?

You may have heard of some, even much of this before and sometimes from me. That’s not my problem. My problem, if problem it be, is to obey God and to continue to speak out that which He tells me speak out. And sometimes this means He wants things said again and again and again – until we actually get it.

So - Where has your passion gone?

PASSION For preaching the Gospel.

In a 2008 survey of over 9000 churches over 6000 admitted they had not preached the Gospel in the previous year.

PASSION For testimonies.

Last week on our Alpha course we had a young man, desperately lost in his old habits and addictions, gloriously saved after hearing our pastors testimony.

If you do your bit and God will do His.

STOP over thinking & over analysing everything – just get on with it.

So where is your passion?

PASSION For the lost or not yet Christians.

PASSION For healing.

PASSION For setting the prisoner free.

PASSION For the homeless.

PASSION For the unwashed & uncared for.

PASSION For the old, lonely, and friendless.

You protest, perhaps some of you a little bit too loudly, “We have passion for all these things. We are doing these things.” But I hear God say – “Really? Are you really doing what I asked you to do or are you doing what you think you can do?” But that is not all that God asked you to do.

If God has asked you, Where is your action? Where is your faith?

If God has asked you then Jehovah Jireh, He will provide.

Deuteronomy 23:19-20

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil? You have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and you cannot change it.” (My changes ‘I’ to ‘you’.)

If God has asked you, He will provide whether you are a pauper or a millionaire. He is no mans debtor.

As the Nike Advert says – Just DO it !!

Messy Church

Messy Church

A popular phrase, “messy church”, refers to a newer type of church. Not at all the well ordered and peaceful church of “the good old days”. Not at all the church of best dressed folk, following a well trodden path through their Sunday services. More the church full of new Christians as well as those of long standing. A church full of people with more problems than you can shake a stick at.

I heard a great description of messy church recently. “If your church is one where the ladies can leave their handbags and purses unattended for two hours knowing they will still be there when the owner returns, then you are in a dead church.” Messy church is never like this. Messy church is full of both new Christians and those still to make their minds up; who come with a lot of old habits and baggage; who are still unsanctified in their habits and language; who sometimes even disrupt the services; yet who are the salt of the earth and those whom Jesus sought to save.

Messy church is full of those who are trying to shake their old bad habits – some succeeding better than others. Those who so very many Christians look at and scorn are the very ones Jesus died for. They are the hidden, the hurt, the disadvantaged, and the sick. They are the old and infirm, the lonely and the friendless’, the untouchable and uncared for, the unlovable and the hurting, the sometimes seemingly unreachable people whom Jesus loved just as much as you or I.

These are they for whom we try to plunder hell in order to populate heaven. These are the bound seeking freedom, the lost seeking deliverance out of their old life as they seek “something better than this”. These are the ones to whom Jesus told us to preach the gospel and baptise them, then to make disciples of them.

These are messy church because we were all messy once and Jesus changed us didn’t He? There but for the Grace of God still go you or I.

Who is my Neighbour

Who is My Neighbour?

Love your neighbour as yourselves?

This is what it means to me – in theory and in practice too

·        Seek the hidden, the hurt, the disadvantaged, and the sick

·        Look for the old and infirm, the lonely, and the friendless

·        Touch the untouchable

·        Hold the uncared for

·        Love the unlovable

·        Heal the hurting

·        Reach the unreachable

·        Plunder Hell to Populate heaven

·        Free the bound

·        Deliver the Lost

·        Baptise the delivered

·        Make disciples

I remember ministering in Spain in a gypsy church. The first miracle was that their pastor announced that I was to be allowed to lay hands on everyone present, including the women. You don’t usually touch the gypsy women – that really is a big no no. Then, after the altar call, two elderly gypsy men came forward. HUGE guys – six feet high and wide – the kind you pray not to meet on a dark night. Rough, gruff, and fearsome looking. My interpreter even backed off. The Lord urged me to hug them! My interpreter moved further away. I held my arms wide and called them over – they fell weeping onto my shoulders. I even gave them a wee kiss – and they wept some more. No-one had EVER shown them love before. Fear – yes, even terror at the sight of these two old “enforcers” walking towards them, but love? Never. Those two gentle old saints wept quietly as they gave their lives to the Lord and I wept with them – as did a few people around us.

These are the people I want to minister to; who I want to bring into God’s kingdom. Did Jesus not die for these as well?

A Little Respect

Respect

A good friend from Southern Africa greeted me one Sunday, “Good morning Uncle Chris.” Nothing extraordinary in that except that we are in no way related. When I asked about this – others call me uncle for a different reason – he informed me that, where he comes from, an ‘older’ person is always referred to as “Uncle” or “Auntie” as a term of respect. I am saying nothing about my bruised ‘older’ ego! He went on to point out that a very well known TV channel owner, when broadcasting from his home state, always calls his guests Auntie or Uncle as a sign of respect. He pays his respects openly and with great affection towards the person he is introducing.

It’s a bit of an old fashioned word, respect. Isn’t it? Yet the Bible is full of references about us showing some respect for elders, leaders, parents, teachers, and anyone older than ourselves. Far too many people seem to demand respect these days and it is usually grudgingly given. Why is that? Surely it is because respect has to be earned. In fact, respect is a double barrelled thing because, many times, we have respect for the position but not for the person.

The Lord is showing me that there is a great deal of room in the church for a little respect. Respect for leaders, for the older generation, and for each other. As children, my generation was taught to show respect to ladies by standing when they entered the room; by offering a seat – preferably close to the fire in winter; and just generally because they are ladies and we were supposed to be gentlemen. The equality movement has done many great things for the ladies but at the cost of old fashioned good manners and respect. Opening the door for a lady or an older person, giving up your seat especially for older people, and so on.

But there is more to biblical respect than the outward signs we demonstrate.  How about respect and a certain amount of deference to old age or the wisdom of age? How about respect for leaders? In the African church, folk bow or curtsy to their leaders as a mark of respect. It is considered an honour to carry their Bible into the service for them. Imagine that in present day America or England?? One wise old African pastor once said to me, “Your people once brought the Gospel and its learning to my people. Now I consider it an honour to be able to bring it back to you.” Ouch !!

A little respect goes a long way towards our personal biblical holiness that Jesus urged us to seek. Can we all please show a little more respect to each other, but especially to our elders and leaders – of either sex.