Q, What is attractive about The Church to the world?
Q, What is glorious about The Church in the eyes of the world?
We want to encourage people to come Christ.
How do we do this?
Are they going to just wonder into the meeting on Sunday?
Ephesians 3:10
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
How is the manifold wisdom of God going to be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through The Church?
Are the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms going to go to the meeting on Sunday?
Are the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms going to attend mass next week?
Obviously we must let Christ be known in The World.
Isaiah 40:5
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Gods vision is that all mankind together will see his glory. God wants his glory revealed to The world.
How is this going to happen?
Is all mankind going to ‘go to church’ next week?
Jesus gave a demonstration of revealing his glory.
John 2:1-11
Jesus Changes Water to Wine
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
Jesus revealed his glory by turning water into wine.
This was a wedding reception. The religious bit had taken place earlier. It was not in a church. It was amongst the ‘churched,’ ‘de-churched’ and ‘un-churched’ It was amongst all mankind.
There didn’t seem to be that much of a ‘wow factor’
As I said, it was not a religious setting.
This leads to another question.
What has ‘going to church’ got to do with our mission as Gods Covenant People?
Cafe Church is one method, Having 'church' in a pub is another, and there are many other ways.
God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and the world has a right to
But Café Church and the church meeting down the pub also have problems.
The Church in the pub has people above a certain age in the pub wanting old hymns and no modern songs while those below a certain age don’t want any songs at all. Due to the secularists getting their own way for so long, we have generations not having a clue about Christianity while the older generations have fond memories of Christianity.
The problem is obviously a generation gap.
Most songs sang in church would be incomprehensible to people outside the church.
Café Church has the same problem. The songs make it just like another service.
Therefore God must be praised by different methods.
One of the Hebrew words for praise means ‘tell of’ so we are called to tell of him.
I believe that some in the ‘emergent church’ have got it wrong, when they talk about different ways of ‘doing church.’
We shouldn’t be ‘doing church’ we should be ‘being church.’
While we are ‘being church’ we should speak of Christ.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Thomas a Kempis
I love Thomas A Kempis' anti-intellectualism in the Imitation of Christ.
It was necessary at the time he wrote because of the dominance of scholastic theology.
Like much theology of today scholasticism had nothing to offer the needs of the human heart.
-
To imitate Christ it is necessary first of all to meditate upon the account of Christ in the Gospels: 'Let our chiefest endeavour be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ'. 'What will it profit you to dispute profoundly on the Holy Trinity if you are devoid of humility and are thereby displeasing to God, the Trinity?' It is better to feel remorse for sins before God than to be able to define the dogma of the Trinity. For 'all is vanity except to love God and serve him only'.
:- Thomas A Kempis
-
Both to meditate upon and to take up the Cross are important: 'In the Cross is salvation, in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is the height of virtue and in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of the soul, nor hope of everlasting life, but in the Cross.'
:-Thomas a Kempis
It was necessary at the time he wrote because of the dominance of scholastic theology.
Like much theology of today scholasticism had nothing to offer the needs of the human heart.
-
To imitate Christ it is necessary first of all to meditate upon the account of Christ in the Gospels: 'Let our chiefest endeavour be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ'. 'What will it profit you to dispute profoundly on the Holy Trinity if you are devoid of humility and are thereby displeasing to God, the Trinity?' It is better to feel remorse for sins before God than to be able to define the dogma of the Trinity. For 'all is vanity except to love God and serve him only'.
:- Thomas A Kempis
-
Both to meditate upon and to take up the Cross are important: 'In the Cross is salvation, in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is the height of virtue and in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of the soul, nor hope of everlasting life, but in the Cross.'
:-Thomas a Kempis
Sunday, 8 February 2009
George Herbert Compline
(George Herbert 1593-1633 was one of the members of the Gedding Community. The Gedding community was probably the first Emergent Church.)
George Herbert Compline
*Teach me your love to know;
That this new light, which now I see,
May both the work and workman show;
Then by a sun-beam I will climb to you.
*O, let your grace, without cease drop from above
*Sine is still hammering my heart
Unto a hardness void of love:
*Let supplying grace, to Crosse his art,
O, let grace Drop from above!
MY words and thoughts do both express this notion, That LIFE has with the sun a double motion. The first IS straight, and our diurnal friend; The other HIDDEN, and doth obliquely bend. One life is wrapt IN flesh, and tends to earth; The other winds towards HIM, Whose happy birth Taught me to live here so THAT still one eye Should aim and shoot at that which IS on high; Quitting with daily labour all MY pleasure, To gain at harvest an eternal treasure.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God and The fellowship of The Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
George Herbert Compline
*Teach me your love to know;
That this new light, which now I see,
May both the work and workman show;
Then by a sun-beam I will climb to you.
*O, let your grace, without cease drop from above
*Sine is still hammering my heart
Unto a hardness void of love:
*Let supplying grace, to Crosse his art,
O, let grace Drop from above!
MY words and thoughts do both express this notion, That LIFE has with the sun a double motion. The first IS straight, and our diurnal friend; The other HIDDEN, and doth obliquely bend. One life is wrapt IN flesh, and tends to earth; The other winds towards HIM, Whose happy birth Taught me to live here so THAT still one eye Should aim and shoot at that which IS on high; Quitting with daily labour all MY pleasure, To gain at harvest an eternal treasure.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God and The fellowship of The Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
Elizabeth of The Trinity Compline
*O lord my God Let us walk in your love
*And let us rest in your love
*You are enthroned above the seraphim
*We cry out to you lord
Holy holy holy lord God Almighty
Heaven and Earth are full of your glory
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in You, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery!
Pacify my soul! Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to your creative action .
*Holy Father you created Heaven and Earth
*Lord Jesus you died to set me free
*Holy Spirit you comfort and reveal.
*Thank you father for sending your son
*Thank you Jesus for dieing for us
*Thank you Holy Spirit for showing us the way
O my 'Three', my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in You so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your Splendour!
*And let us rest in your love
*You are enthroned above the seraphim
*We cry out to you lord
Holy holy holy lord God Almighty
Heaven and Earth are full of your glory
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in You, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery!
Pacify my soul! Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to your creative action .
*Holy Father you created Heaven and Earth
*Lord Jesus you died to set me free
*Holy Spirit you comfort and reveal.
*Thank you father for sending your son
*Thank you Jesus for dieing for us
*Thank you Holy Spirit for showing us the way
O my 'Three', my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in You so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your Splendour!
Eucharistic Community
I’ ve had a look at the Maybe community’s website and found some stuff on Eucharistic Community.
http://www.maybe.org.uk/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=mb&item_id=community
They sat that
“The Eucharist (also known as the Mass, Communion, the Lord's Supper or Breaking of Bread) is at the heart of our being community. In the sharing of this meal of bread and wine our sense is that Jesus is, amazingly and mysteriously present. In his presence we are nourished and made at one with each other and with the worldwide Church ancient, present and yet to come…”
This is so true. The first ever Eucharist was a meal amongst friends where they communed with Christ and each other. So often in church there is no communing at all.
In the context of a community sharing with each other the Eucharist means more.
We are made at one with each other and with the worldwide Church ancient, present and yet to come and we are made one with him.
http://www.maybe.org.uk/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=mb&item_id=community
They sat that
“The Eucharist (also known as the Mass, Communion, the Lord's Supper or Breaking of Bread) is at the heart of our being community. In the sharing of this meal of bread and wine our sense is that Jesus is, amazingly and mysteriously present. In his presence we are nourished and made at one with each other and with the worldwide Church ancient, present and yet to come…”
This is so true. The first ever Eucharist was a meal amongst friends where they communed with Christ and each other. So often in church there is no communing at all.
In the context of a community sharing with each other the Eucharist means more.
We are made at one with each other and with the worldwide Church ancient, present and yet to come and we are made one with him.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Emerging Church
So many people don't like it.
---
http://emerging-church.blogspot.com/2006/12/called-emerging-emergent-church.html
“Called emerging, emergent church movement, and emerging church spirituality, this post-modern way of doing church is causing people to question the validity of its teachings. Simply put, many emerging church teachings are rooted in Contemplative Spirituality, which comes from the East.”
-----
Don’t these people know that Jesus came from The East too?
Don’t they know what selah means?
Obviously we have to keep our eyes on Jesus.
---
http://emerging-church.blogspot.com/2006/12/called-emerging-emergent-church.html
“Called emerging, emergent church movement, and emerging church spirituality, this post-modern way of doing church is causing people to question the validity of its teachings. Simply put, many emerging church teachings are rooted in Contemplative Spirituality, which comes from the East.”
-----
Don’t these people know that Jesus came from The East too?
Don’t they know what selah means?
Obviously we have to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Atheists advertising on busses
No Emergent Christians Blog is complete without the bus adverts.
The jokes on the Athiests.
The jokes on the Athiests.
Anselm Compline
*Those blessed ones of your's shall rejoice according as they shall love;
and they shall love according as they shall know.
*How far they will know you, Lord, then! and how much they will love you!
* Father, bless the work that is done,and the work that is to be.
* Father, bless the servants that we are,and the servant that we will be.
O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart;
that, so desiring, we may seek, and seeking find you;
and so finding you may love you: and loving you, may hate those sins from which you have redeemed us.
*And you, Jesus, are you not also a mother?
*Are you not the mother, who, like a hen,
gathers her chickens under her wings? Truly, Lord, you are a mother;
*for both they who labour
and they who are brought forth
are accepted by you.
*You have died more than they, that they may labour to bear.
*It is by your death that they have been born, for if you had not been in labour, you could not have borne death; and if you had not died, you would not have brought forth.
For, longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death,
and by dying you begot them.
and they shall love according as they shall know.
*How far they will know you, Lord, then! and how much they will love you!
* Father, bless the work that is done,and the work that is to be.
* Father, bless the servants that we are,and the servant that we will be.
O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart;
that, so desiring, we may seek, and seeking find you;
and so finding you may love you: and loving you, may hate those sins from which you have redeemed us.
*And you, Jesus, are you not also a mother?
*Are you not the mother, who, like a hen,
gathers her chickens under her wings? Truly, Lord, you are a mother;
*for both they who labour
and they who are brought forth
are accepted by you.
*You have died more than they, that they may labour to bear.
*It is by your death that they have been born, for if you had not been in labour, you could not have borne death; and if you had not died, you would not have brought forth.
For, longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death,
and by dying you begot them.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Rebuilders of The Church's Lost Heritage
Isaiah 61:1-5
The Year of the LORD's Favour
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach 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,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
---
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon The Church, because the LORD has anointed The Church to preach good news to the poor and The Church shall preach good news to the poor.
He has sent The Church to bind up the broken-hearted and The Church shall bind up the broken hearted, He has sent The Church to proclaim freedom for the captives and to the captives freedom shall be proclaimed Release from darkness for the prisoners and the prisoners shall be released. The poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners and those who mourn will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
The poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners and those who mourn will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
The Year of the LORD's Favour
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach 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,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
---
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon The Church, because the LORD has anointed The Church to preach good news to the poor and The Church shall preach good news to the poor.
He has sent The Church to bind up the broken-hearted and The Church shall bind up the broken hearted, He has sent The Church to proclaim freedom for the captives and to the captives freedom shall be proclaimed Release from darkness for the prisoners and the prisoners shall be released. The poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners and those who mourn will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
The poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners and those who mourn will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Applied Theology and the Religionisation of The Church
If you knew the whole Bible, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what should all this profit you without the love and grace of God?
:- Thomas A Kempis
You can be religious without having any faith in God. More importantly you can have faith in God without being religious.:-Bonhoeffer.
Religion has to do with form, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws doctrine, dogma and labouring. It has nothing to do with grace or a living faith in the living God.
Major W. Ian Thomas writes, “It is one of the subtleties of Satan which causes men to flee from God and seek to silence His voice in the very practice of religion. So it is that man, to suit his own convenience, has reduced God to a theological formula, an ethical code, or political program, a theatrical performance in a religious setting, the hero worship of some vivid personality.. In, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has the senior devil, Screwtape, say to his nephew, Wormwood, "One of our greatest allies at present is the church itself," i.e. "Christian religion."
What does God think of religion?
Amos 5:21"I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.--
Amos 8:10I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
God hates religion.
What did Jesus have to say about religion?
Matthew 23:13-33 (New International Version)
13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to………….
……..33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Jesus hates religion.
Religion is opposed to Christ. Religion tries to control The Holy Spirit. Religion has people upset because healing occurs outside a healing meeting. Religion is rule upon rule do and then do. God hates religion.
Jesus never came to found a religion but to set the captives free.
Religion opposes God. Religion acknowledges what God has done in the past while resisting what God is doing now.
Religion is legalistic and therefore opposes grace.
The Church which is the body of Christ has been religionsed.
The greatest threat Christianity has always faced has never been secularism, but the religionisation of The Church.
A living relationship with Christ has been replaced by form, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws and labouring.
Religion is not spiritual. Religion is carnal minded crap. Religion is for the ego. Religion is worthless.
What has this got to do with applied theology?
James 1:26-27
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James is clearly using the word religion in a very tongue in cheek way,. What he is saying is that if you want to engage in a religion that pleases God in heaven, help the homeless, the poor, the disenfranchised and the powerless it sounds like good religion, but it is in fact applied theology.
This has nothing to do with special buildings, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws, doctrine, dogma and labouring.
His second point is very important. He tells to guard against the corrupting influence of the world.
Ephesians 2:10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Good works do not make a good man but a good man does good works. :- Martin Luther.
Luke 4:18-19
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour”
1 John 4:16-17 (New International Version)
16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
His grace compels us.
Go and preach the gospel and if you have to use words. :-Francis of Assisi.
The problem is that due to the religionisation of The Church, applied theology has been turned into religion. Religion turns The Bible into a rule book where people have to follow sets of rules and regulations for God to save them, while applied theology is an outward working of the glorious gospel of grace.
Acts 15:11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
Ephesians 2:5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
2 Timothy 1:9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
We are saved by grace.
Romans 3:24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Titus 3:7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
We are justified by grace.
:- Thomas A Kempis
You can be religious without having any faith in God. More importantly you can have faith in God without being religious.:-Bonhoeffer.
Religion has to do with form, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws doctrine, dogma and labouring. It has nothing to do with grace or a living faith in the living God.
Major W. Ian Thomas writes, “It is one of the subtleties of Satan which causes men to flee from God and seek to silence His voice in the very practice of religion. So it is that man, to suit his own convenience, has reduced God to a theological formula, an ethical code, or political program, a theatrical performance in a religious setting, the hero worship of some vivid personality.. In, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has the senior devil, Screwtape, say to his nephew, Wormwood, "One of our greatest allies at present is the church itself," i.e. "Christian religion."
What does God think of religion?
Amos 5:21"I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.--
Amos 8:10I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
God hates religion.
What did Jesus have to say about religion?
Matthew 23:13-33 (New International Version)
13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to………….
……..33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Jesus hates religion.
Religion is opposed to Christ. Religion tries to control The Holy Spirit. Religion has people upset because healing occurs outside a healing meeting. Religion is rule upon rule do and then do. God hates religion.
Jesus never came to found a religion but to set the captives free.
Religion opposes God. Religion acknowledges what God has done in the past while resisting what God is doing now.
Religion is legalistic and therefore opposes grace.
The Church which is the body of Christ has been religionsed.
The greatest threat Christianity has always faced has never been secularism, but the religionisation of The Church.
A living relationship with Christ has been replaced by form, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws and labouring.
Religion is not spiritual. Religion is carnal minded crap. Religion is for the ego. Religion is worthless.
What has this got to do with applied theology?
James 1:26-27
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James is clearly using the word religion in a very tongue in cheek way,. What he is saying is that if you want to engage in a religion that pleases God in heaven, help the homeless, the poor, the disenfranchised and the powerless it sounds like good religion, but it is in fact applied theology.
This has nothing to do with special buildings, formalism, formulae, rituals, rules, regulations, rites; legalism, laws, doctrine, dogma and labouring.
His second point is very important. He tells to guard against the corrupting influence of the world.
Ephesians 2:10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Good works do not make a good man but a good man does good works. :- Martin Luther.
Luke 4:18-19
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour”
1 John 4:16-17 (New International Version)
16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
His grace compels us.
Go and preach the gospel and if you have to use words. :-Francis of Assisi.
The problem is that due to the religionisation of The Church, applied theology has been turned into religion. Religion turns The Bible into a rule book where people have to follow sets of rules and regulations for God to save them, while applied theology is an outward working of the glorious gospel of grace.
Acts 15:11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
Ephesians 2:5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
2 Timothy 1:9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
We are saved by grace.
Romans 3:24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Titus 3:7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
We are justified by grace.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Spiritual Espionage
Ephesians 6:10-13
The Armour of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (New International Version)
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We do not wage war as the world does.
The world uses weapons of mass destruction while we use weapons of mass construction.
The world curses and we bless.
The world speaks hate filled propaganda and we speak the truth in love.
So we are at war but we do not wage war as the world does.
This is fortunate because the world does not always have a strategy while we should have a divine strategy.
We can go in guns blazing with no clearly planned strategy and lose the war (The Vietnam way) or we can have a clear strategy on how to take territory but not have any strategy for what to do after victory so that they all hate us (The Iraq way)
We can scream “We bind you Devil” and see no victory (The Vietnam) or we can take over a political agenda and have the world hate us (The Iraq) Both techniques are more religious than anything else.
In The Old Testament, Israel often went to war with a clear strategy.
In 2 Chronicles 20 the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD which was a good idea Joshua was deceived by the Gibeonite because he didn’t enquire of The Lord. By enquiring of The Lord a strategy to win the battle was to be given.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'
Of Course The Lord said “Yes!”
"But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "
A clear strategy was given and followed and the battle was won.
Joshua had a clear strategy for taking Jericho and for taking Ai and by clear strategy the cities were taken.
Ephesians 6:14-18
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Praying in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests is a way of getting strategy. Another way of having a good strategy is by reconnaissance.
Intelligence gathering is good. Reconnaissance was a strategy in the old Testament.
Deuteronomy 1:22-2322 Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to." 23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.
Joshua 2:1
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
Joshua 7:2
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
Judges 1:22-2522 Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz)
Judges 18:2
So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, "Go, explore the land." The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
This spiritual espionage goes on against us too apparently
Galatians 2:4
This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
We have five references to Gods people gathering intelligence on the enemy.--
When I first felt lead of The Lord to gather intelligence I was shocked to find that I first had to gather intelligence on The Church. I didn’t have a clue what most of The Church in my home town was doing. I didn’t know who was leading churches even and I had to find out. I felt lead to pray for those in authority and I didn’t know who was in authority. I found out who all the town councillors were easily but to find out who all the pastors etc. were was a lot harder. The religious control of denominationalism is the cause of this.
I know I was not the only one doing this and through prayer all churches know what each other are doing and so there is only one Church here that is one body many parts. Denominationalsm is being defeated.
As time has gone on it has become easier for me to know what is going on. I first started praying for councillors and then The Lord had me get to know many of them in person afterwards.
There are many things of use to us for prayer like crime statistic for instance. Or where road accidents most often occur.
The Armour of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (New International Version)
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We do not wage war as the world does.
The world uses weapons of mass destruction while we use weapons of mass construction.
The world curses and we bless.
The world speaks hate filled propaganda and we speak the truth in love.
So we are at war but we do not wage war as the world does.
This is fortunate because the world does not always have a strategy while we should have a divine strategy.
We can go in guns blazing with no clearly planned strategy and lose the war (The Vietnam way) or we can have a clear strategy on how to take territory but not have any strategy for what to do after victory so that they all hate us (The Iraq way)
We can scream “We bind you Devil” and see no victory (The Vietnam) or we can take over a political agenda and have the world hate us (The Iraq) Both techniques are more religious than anything else.
In The Old Testament, Israel often went to war with a clear strategy.
In 2 Chronicles 20 the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD which was a good idea Joshua was deceived by the Gibeonite because he didn’t enquire of The Lord. By enquiring of The Lord a strategy to win the battle was to be given.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'
Of Course The Lord said “Yes!”
"But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "
A clear strategy was given and followed and the battle was won.
Joshua had a clear strategy for taking Jericho and for taking Ai and by clear strategy the cities were taken.
Ephesians 6:14-18
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Praying in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests is a way of getting strategy. Another way of having a good strategy is by reconnaissance.
Intelligence gathering is good. Reconnaissance was a strategy in the old Testament.
Deuteronomy 1:22-2322 Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to." 23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.
Joshua 2:1
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
Joshua 7:2
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
Judges 1:22-2522 Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz)
Judges 18:2
So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, "Go, explore the land." The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
This spiritual espionage goes on against us too apparently
Galatians 2:4
This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
We have five references to Gods people gathering intelligence on the enemy.--
When I first felt lead of The Lord to gather intelligence I was shocked to find that I first had to gather intelligence on The Church. I didn’t have a clue what most of The Church in my home town was doing. I didn’t know who was leading churches even and I had to find out. I felt lead to pray for those in authority and I didn’t know who was in authority. I found out who all the town councillors were easily but to find out who all the pastors etc. were was a lot harder. The religious control of denominationalism is the cause of this.
I know I was not the only one doing this and through prayer all churches know what each other are doing and so there is only one Church here that is one body many parts. Denominationalsm is being defeated.
As time has gone on it has become easier for me to know what is going on. I first started praying for councillors and then The Lord had me get to know many of them in person afterwards.
There are many things of use to us for prayer like crime statistic for instance. Or where road accidents most often occur.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
The Salt of The Earth
2 Chronicles 6:5a
'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there,
The temple of The Lord has his name there.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
The temple that we are that Gods Spirit dwells in has his name.
John 14:12-14
12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it
We have the right to use his name.
As Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem we are to dedicate ourselves to The Lord.
2 Chronicles 7:1-3
The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
May all that is not of God within his Church be consumed by fire and may his temple which is us be filled with his glory.
May The Church bring a reverence towards The God of Israel in this time in Jesus’ name.
2 Chronicles 7:11-14
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land
The Church is his people who are called by his name. When we humble ourselves, seek his face and repent he has promised to heal our land.
God is able to bring a nation back to him. God is able to heal a nations economy. God is able and he has promised that if we humble ourselves, pray and turn away from wickedness , he will do it.
We are the salt of The Earth. We can stop the rot.
'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there,
The temple of The Lord has his name there.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
The temple that we are that Gods Spirit dwells in has his name.
John 14:12-14
12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it
We have the right to use his name.
As Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem we are to dedicate ourselves to The Lord.
2 Chronicles 7:1-3
The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
May all that is not of God within his Church be consumed by fire and may his temple which is us be filled with his glory.
May The Church bring a reverence towards The God of Israel in this time in Jesus’ name.
2 Chronicles 7:11-14
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land
The Church is his people who are called by his name. When we humble ourselves, seek his face and repent he has promised to heal our land.
God is able to bring a nation back to him. God is able to heal a nations economy. God is able and he has promised that if we humble ourselves, pray and turn away from wickedness , he will do it.
We are the salt of The Earth. We can stop the rot.
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