Messy – just messy

Messy – just messy

  
Do you like messy Christianity? How about messy church? I suppose we had better specify both terms before you answer. Messy Christianity is simply a variation of whatever you describe as being 'Normal' Christianity. To me, it is a form of Christianity in which you get hands on, dirty, and messy. You meet and deal with real people, real life, real situations in the real world. The people you deal with might be relatively poor, homeless, hungry, or just between a rock and a hard place right now. You may be a social worker or a layman, but you can find yourself confronted with a situation that needs help in order to get dealt with.

Messy church, on the other hand, invites those we may well meet "doing" messy Christianity into our churches on Sunday morning. It means that ladies can no longer leave their handbag or purse lying around trusting that no one would touch it because "this is church and it's a safe place."

These definitions change all the usual Christian rules, frequently replacing them with worldly rules abhorred in our cosy, sanctified, and predominantly safe churches. Messy church and Christianity changes all the old rules from safe to, well – messy. I recall a story about an ordinary working man going to a very well to do Anglican church only to be told that “there is no place for you here.” Defending his stance the presiding prelate said he had a very upper middle class church and he needed to ‘protect them’ from those who very clearly did not fit in with that type of people. That church could never handle messy church – would never even try to do so.

Like many other churches in all denominations, there are so many who don’t want too many ‘messy Christians’ in their midst. Even in our church in the not so very distant past, we heard the question, “Do we really want those kind of people here?” I can just imagine how one or two so-called ‘super-churches’ would handle messy Christians alongside their “star members”.

Church, we need to get used to this messy Christianity, and right now too. There are many hurting, damaged people coming to faith in Jesus who need healing and discipling. This is original church in a 21st century context! Jesus did not come for the rich, although neither did He turn them away. Jesus came for the sinner – that’s every man, woman, and child on the planet. He came for the poor, the bound, the captives, the lost – all of them/us. He died for all of us and my only advice to you today is this – get used to messy church and messy Christians. There will be thousands of them coming into our churches very soon now.

How will your church handle this? Better start preparing today.

Before He Comes

Before He Comes

Isaiah 42:8-9 ‘I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’

I often wonder what it will take for the world to take any notice of God. I find it almost scary to realise just how many will be left behind when Jesus returns in clouds for His Bride. If no-one is listening to the prophets, to whom are they listening? The Word of God is quite clear about these things; it does not mince words. There is no “spin doctoring” in God’s Word although there are those who try to put a spin on various things.

The answer, I believe, lies in our worship. It’s not about how entertaining our worship  is, nor is it about how long it goes on. It is an attitude of heart within each of the worshipers. If our hearts are right; if our hearts reflect the words we sometimes so glibly use in worship, then surely we shall see the Glory of God in His house.  Is it not time to clear our hearts of all of our own agendas to concentrate our worship solely upon Jesus?

Do we come to worship with a clean heart? Have we asked and then allowed God to “create in me a clean heart”? Have we asked Him to “put a right spirit within me”? if we are honest, I think we all find this incredibly hard to do. Yet, when we do, our worship ascends like the finest incense before our Fathers throne and it is pleasing to Him. Is this the moment when the spiritual presence of Jesus turns into the actual presence? Will this be the moment He brings His Shekinah Glory into our meetings?

I believe God is always searching our hearts for those moments of true worship when we really do surrender all to Him. I do not believe He inhabits tainted praises – praises with attitude and agendas. I think He is simply waiting for us to clean our hearts of all of ourselves and fill our hearts with Him – only Him. This is when I believe He will come to inhabit the praises of His people and He will make His habitation in our worship. 

Worship is the lifestyle that God is waiting for us to adopt before He comes among us in the power and glory we so long to see in His presence. Worship is our commitment to God that is necessary for Him to fulfil His commitment and promises to us. I am committing to a worship lifestyle because I want to see more of Gods presence among us. I wont get it right all the time and I will have to ask Holy Spirits help in doing so, but I also know it is a call for help that He cannot refuse. If I mean it, He will do it.

How about you? If we get this right who knows what could happen? The harvest could be even more amazing in preparation for His return.

The Call to Separation

The Call to Separation

2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”

Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not as easy option. It is not a ‘Come unto Me and all your problems will disappear’ Gospel. It is more a call to holiness and separation from the world. Yet there is always the problem of being in the world but not being a part of it. We are called to a holier way of living. A way which invites all the jeers and cat-calls of the mockers. A way which can, especially today, lead to persecution and even death. 

Jesus taught us that we are a seed, and as such, we must therefore, like all seeds, go to the ground and die so that we may grow again as a strong new plant. That is all about dying to self and living for God so that He may be seen in our lives. Salt and light, we are called. Salt that we might be a preservative of God’s truth, and light that the light of God may shine through our lives into a dark world. Peter, when speaking at the first Pentecost, said in Acts 2:40 “ . . . . “ ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ “ – Do not be a part of the world. Be in the world but not of the world.

But we are not to journey alone through life. There is a call to “the fellowship of believers” – in other words make your close friends among fellow believers. I do not believe this is a call to exclusivity however, as Jesus commands us to ‘love our neighbours as ourselves’. The Bible also talks elsewhere about ‘by their love shall you know them’. The emphasis is always to remain in the world but to keep ourselves apart from that world.

Finally, in 1 Peter 4:8, the apostle writes, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” “ This, I believe, is a call to discretion, but not at the expense of open-ness and honesty. I am talking here about resolving a sinful situation by first talking/reconciling privately, before going to pastor, and before going public. In other words we wash our dirty linen in private as far as both we and the law allows us to do so.

We are called to separation without exclusiveness; to holiness without aloofness and snobbery; to love God and to love all those around us – no matter our differences. Always remember that God certainly hates the sin but He also still loves the sinner. No-one is beyond His love. Do you think He loves you more than some people in the world? No, no, no – Gods love is exactly the same for every single human being of every nation, tribe, tongue, colour, sex, religion, faith, politics, orientation or whatever. 

We all have the same choices, but we are called to be a little bit separate.

Return to 1st Century Church

Return to 1^st Century Church

There is a lot of talk these days of a return to the church as it was in the beginning. What? – even if that means conversion, baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit all on the same day? Why ever not?

I think that in today’s church, we have so placed things into little boxes that suit our arrangements that we can no longer even imagine allowing Holy Spirit freedom and room to move beyond the time constraints we put on our meetings. In short, Sundays are a bit rushed and tight on time. Everything is timed down to the nearest minute and woe betide he who overstays his allotted time on the microphone. This is to allow people who want to do so, to set their meal in motion at a time conducive to escaping from church in time to fit in with their own tight schedules. I want to ask them if they really have time for God on Sundays?

If we want 1^st century church, then we have to adopt some 1^st century attitudes and some 1^st century values.

If we continue to restrain Holy Spirit, how can we expect Him to move in our meetings? When you last saw a Holy Spirit encounter in your meeting, did He move for four minutes, in accordance with your schedule, and then stop – at the same time apologising for almost, possibly holding up those with other things needing to be done? I don’t think so. If we really want a return to first century church, then we are also going to have to rethink a few things other than timing.

The baptismal tank needs to be ready every service – full and not freezing. In the first century, folk were saved, baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit – all on the same day! Imagine that happening today with “no proper teaching or mentoring”?  Almost unthinkable isn’t it?

Because people who receive an infilling of the Holy Spirit are prone to being “slain in the Spirit”, or falling over, so catchers need to be ready to spring into action as new converts are also baptised in the Holy Spirit.

Despite all of this, good teachers and trainers and mentors will be needed - on standby of course and in good home groups. One of the most joyful ‘problems’ of new believers is that they are hungry for almost anything of God, so a home group is a must.

Even so, deliverance ministry may be needed – also on standby – as nearly all who come to salvation bring various amounts of ‘baggage’ with them. The baggage includes unwanted visitors of course and these need to be thrown out as soon as possible.

Ready and prepared house or home group leaders will be needed to help ensure none of the new guys fall through the cracks. We have seen far too many new Christians fall away again because of the lack of nurturing from their new home church. Many churches still do not have any nurturing program in place. This beggars a question or two about ‘making disciples’ – if nothing else.

There’s more to 1^st century church than meets the immediate eye, so I suppose we should be careful what we ask God for, lest we actually get it and are left completely unprepared.

Just a thought – that’s all.

Worthwhile Mission

Worthwhile Mission

I feel my mission is to help the hurt and the helpless, to love the unlovable, to touch the untouchable, and to bring the love of Jesus Christ to bear on their lives through ministry. God give me strength to do some of this, in Jesus name.

Is that too lofty an ambition; too much to ask; too grandiose a scheme? Jesus did these things and He has, I believe, given me, amongst many others, the love and grace to do something of the same. He will give that grace in abundance to all who ask. Will you avail yourself of it; of Him?

Everything you do – do it as unto the Lord. Paul said this and I think it is sound advice. Ask yourself – is what I am doing good enough to bring glory to God? If not then, either why am I doing it, or, how can I do it better? I also believe this has to do as much with the quality of our heart, as it has to do with the quality of our work.

Feed them, give them a drink, clothe them, visit them in prison or when they are sick.  “Them” is your neighbour. “Your neighbour” is almost anyone in need. We must treasure widows and orphans. This is a call to look after the weak and defenceless, the lost or forgotten.

“Whoever does this for the least of these, (these who are) My brothers and sisters, does it for Me.” This is a timely reminder that we are all family in Christ where there is “no Jew or gentile, no male or female, no freeman or slave, no rich or poor, no “haves” nor “have nots”. We are one in Christ and will be judged by how we loved our neighbour as ourselves as much as we will be judged for our love of God.

I don’t know about you, but I love Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,”

I love Joel 2:28-29 “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

I love Mark 16:15-18 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Set the captives free, heal the sick, cast out demons, make disciples – what a calling. What a privilege. What a responsibility. Frightening isn’t it? 

Deeper Ever Deeper

Deeper Ever Deeper

There is a great upswell in spiritual activity right now. God is moving through His Holy Spirit and things are happening. There seems to be a direct correlation between this move and the people of God drawing closer to Him; drawing closer and going deeper.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” So says James 4:8 in the NLT. Other translations say “draw” rather than “come” and I believe it is in that drawing close to Him that is so close to Gods heart at this time. It seems to me that the closer His people get to Him, the more God moves through His Spirit.

There are one or two verses in scripture that encourage us. Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” As we are still in His presence, so He comes close to us. Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls unto deep”. The deeper we go in God so the more deeply Holy Spirit can speak to us. Yet we actually don’t have to move that far. In the story of the Prodigal, we see that when Father saw His wayward son step closer to Him, so He picked up His robes, ran and caught His son in a joyful embrace. So it is with us going deeper with the Lord. The moment we take that step that takes us deeper with Him, so He ‘runs’ closer to us – steps deeper with us.

Ezekiel 47:1-12 describes this process allegorically. The further down river we go, the deeper we get, and the more reliant on Him we become. It’s the “dying to self” thing again.

God is seeking those who will go deeper with Him once, then deeper again, then deeper still. I believe that the deeper we go, the more He pours His Spirit upon us. The more He pours His Spirit on us the more we see the reality of His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”. The more we see things on earth as they are in heaven, the more people we will see coming to salvation.

The more we see all of that – the closer we get to revival and to Jesus coming back for His Bride.

Stop, Breathe Deep, and Listen

Stop, Breathe Deep, and Listen

I feel a spirit of prophecy all over me. It has been here for days but, although I have been listening, I have heard little – nothing really. So I feel the urge to worship – and what song leaps to the fore? A song from the 1904 Welsh Revival – “Fill me now” by Elwood H Stokes. The first verse is

Hover o’er me, Holy Spirit, Bathe my trembling heart and brow; Fill me with Thy hallowed presence, Come, oh, come and fill me now.
Refrain:
Fill me now, fill me now, Holy Spirit, fill me now; Fill me with Thy hallowed presence, Come, oh, come, and fill me now.

Beautiful words, sung quietly,  always brings me seemingly closer to the presence of God. As I listened to it again this afternoon, I was once again drawn into that wonderful presence.

I felt God saying this to me – to all of us, “Your lives are lived at 100 miles per hour as you fill yourselves with rush and hurry. Your days are never long enough. Those of you who seek to do My will always seem to forget that, in My realm, time does not exist, therefore hurry does not exist either.” As I listened, I felt myself relaxing. He continued, “Stop trying to do so much! The majority of your busyness is not from Me anyway. It is a diversion away from Me. It does not pull you into My presence, rather, it keeps you away from my presence. At the same time, this pulling away manages to convince you that you are in My will. You are not in My will; not in the place of rest I have prepared for you. You are rarely in the place where I can actually talk to you. At least talk to you without causing you to rush off on your next self-imposed errand.”

How many of you know that when God talks to you like this, there is no condemnation, only sadness. Father God longs for moments, long moments of quietness and solitude with you. A place where there are no distractions. Holy Spirit has so much to talk to you and say to you. How can any of us hear Him properly if we won’t stay still for a few moments? It’s a ploy of the enemy that whispers to us, “Do you hear that? It is your Heavenly Father. He probably wants to talk to you about what you didn’t do for Him today. What you forgot to do for Him today. Better get busy!” And that’s it – we run from His presence, no matter how unwillingly, but driven on by the thought that we may have let Him down.

Oh, clever Satan! Crafty Satan! Ignore Satan! He is a liar !!

If you think God might be calling you, then He probably is and, like Samuel, you need to stay still and say, “Speak Lord, I am listening for you.”  That’s right – stop, take a deep breath, and just listen. If God isn’t calling, it doesn’t matter. Either you will have a few moments of quiet in the middle of a busy period, or God will take the opportunity and speak to you anyway. All He needs is the chance to do so. On the other hand, if He is calling you, then He can now speak while He has your attention.

What will you lose if you miss the opportunity? What will you gain if you take that opportunity? Why risk it?

Break Time

Time to take a wee break

Ever since we moved here to our new life in Sleaford in middle-England, we have been busy. We love our busy life here but it is probably about to get even busier. I am spending time at the Lord’s feet, just worshiping Him and listening. I am also spending more time with a few younger, newer Christians as well as with one or two projects the Lord has given me a burden for. As a result I am spending less time than I should with my precious wife.

So, I intend to take a wee break from my blog. I will continue to write as the Lord inspires me but there will be a lull in the publishing department. This lull may be temporary or it may be permanent, depending on what God says and on how our work at the shop and cafe goes. So for the moment, my prayers and love stay with you all but my blog is in suspension.

I will still be on FB and Twitter.

God bless you all – God loves you and so do I.

See you soon \o/