All posts by faithfulwon

Autobiographical, Open Arms, Worship & Song

Format the same, experience different

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I believe it is a sign that the church is being led by the Holy Spirit that I can be in worship one Sunday and be in a march across the county and the next Sunday in a love-in holding hands with angels (ok my imagination, indulge me) and knowing intimacy with the Holy Spirit as a dove (Psalm 68:13).  Yet nothing in the format of the meeting changed – same band, similar songs, mostly same congregation.  God having His way with His people.

I believe God showed me the way He sees things in a measure.  Whereas we hear the sounds and see the sights, He sees the relationships between the people.  No matter how professional the production, if  there is back biting and gossip, discord and anger God sees that.  What is pleasing to Him is the love being shared throughout the congregation.

Autobiographical, Open Arms, Prophetic?, Worship & Song

Visions during Worship

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Corporate worship where God is moving in the Spirit is amazing.  I am sure all sorts of things are happening while we worship that we are probably only dimly aware of.  For sure there is more going on than most of us realise.

This morning during worship I had a series of visions – or perhaps imaginings, maybe still valid for all that.   Hopefully the imaginings or visions are of the kind spoken of in Acts 2:17.  So here they are, judge for yourselves:

During the first part of the worship I found myself in the Spirit accompanying the Lord’s army going around Kildare from pagan high place to well taking them for the Lord.  There were not too many and the battles were not fierce though real enough for all that.  We raised some from the dead during that phase.

Afterwards I was shown another vision, this time of the religious strongholds throughout the county.  These were far more numerous and far more effective in keeping people bound in darkness.  They were like a grid upon the county, like a lattice keeping people in their graves. 

Then we got ready for battle and passed through the county breaking down the religious strongholds and releasing people out of their graves, raising them from the dead.  These battles were fierce and difficult.  Sometimes we had to fell the towers, putting a sledgehammer to the bases of them.

In the final phase there was a victory ride through the county following Our Lord on horse back, He of course on a white one.

Autobiographical, Book Reviews, His Story

Books and the Bible: The Shack

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I’ve spent the last many years not reading books except the Bible and those connected to work with few exceptions (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons being one notable one).  However this year instead of my normal reading of the bible in a year (like for the last 30 years) I’m listening to it for most of the 2 hours every working day I spend travelling to and from work in my car.  The version I listen to is the excellent Word of Promise dramatised NKJV version which I would highly recommend.  The MP3 version is compact and great value.  I reckon I’ll have listened to the New Testament three times and the Old Testament twice at least before the end of the year. 

Another reason I haven’t been reading books is that I’ve found since children entered the equation I’ve wanted to prioritise my time.  Reading can be a rather solitary and selfish pastime if indulged in as much as I like to.  But with the time in the car freeing up reading time I have time to read some other books.

I believe God put The Shack my way for this time.  It’s been in the house for some months.  I started to read it over last weekend and found it hard to put it down and finished it on Monday evening.  I reckon I’ll read it again at least once which for me is the strongest recommendation I could give any book since I never do that except for the Bible of course :-). 

It is hard to explain why a book with so many so obvious heresies – some might say blasphemies – (God the Father being portrayed as a black African American woman being one of the more obvious ones) should be so witnessed to by the Holy Spirit when I’m reading it.  I guess He isn’t quite as defensive as we might be.  Maybe He feels He doesn’t have to be defensive.  I also believe God the Father can appear in any form He wants to to anyone, as obviously the authors of The Shack do too.

The section that stands out most for me and, on the surface at least, blessed me the most is the part where Mack is interviewed by Sophia, the personification of wisdom.  I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it.

The Shack in combination with other events in my life at this time has left me with a deeper sense of God’s grace than I can remember experiencing before.  I feel more loved than ever.  It was definitely the right book at the right time.  I confess that had it come at an earlier time in my walk I may have been tempted to condemn it.  By earlier I mean last year…..

My apologies to anyone who has felt judged by me in the past.  Perhaps the biggest legacy The Shack has left with me is a realisation of just how much I’ve done that, how much it was a part of my approach to life and how wrong it is.

30 years since I was born again.. so what?, read the bible every year..pooey, listen to it for up to 2 hours a day… phoney.  All useless unless infused by love and grace.

Never mind, we’ll get there, won’t we Jesus?  Yes, He believes in me.

General Principles, good news

Forgiveness

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From chapters 9 – 11 of Romans, Paul wrestles with the mysteries of pre-destination.  Finally at the end he seems almost to throw his hands up in the air and admit he can’t explain it.  This reaction seems triggered by the remarkable conclusion he comes to in Romans 11:32:

“For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.”

I was listening to Luke 7 in the car on the way to work and struck again by the words Jesus spoke to Simon the Pharisee:

“..to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

I believe now that the reason Jesus gave the Pharisees such a hard time was to make them realise, if at all possible, that they were just as bad as any prostitute.  Only by realising this could they be forgiven much and so love much.  In the light of the infinite holiness of God, we are all sinners to the same degree.  It is just that some of us have a hard time realising it.

Blessed is the man or woman who is forgiven much (Psalm 32:1).

Discipleship Series, Prophetic?

The Irish fields are ripe for harvest

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God has been doing a mighty work in Ireland shaking everything that can be shaken so that that which cannot be shaken – the Kingdom of God – may remain and, indeed, expand greatly.  The powers of institutional religion and the intertwined government that ruled this country for decades have been broken and a spiritual vacumn has been left in their wake.  This vacumn is felt at both a national and personal level in many peoples lives.  Many now wonder how to bring up their children, where to centre their lives.

It is for them that Jesus wants Himself to be made known through His Church – not the so called church built on the corrupt religiosity of hypocritical men whose consciences were seared as with an hot iron (1 Tim. 4:2).  These men and women covered up and even carried out unspeakable things.  But this is not the Church of Christ, a Church that reflects the forgiving and welcoming holiness of God built on the only foundation worth building, on that of the Word of God (Matt. 16:18).

There is such a Church in this country.  It contains a small percentage of the population and has a diverse and geographically separated expression in many local assemblies throughout the country.  Now is the time for these to shine like beacons on a hill.

Never in living history in this land has it been so open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

All those who have a personal relationship with Jesus need to seek His will so that we can grasp this opportunity with both hands.  The window of opportunity will not stay open for long.  At the end of this period, Ireland will go one of two directions, either into the pagan syncretism of countries like Portugal and Italy or the evangelised hope of countries like Bolivia and Brazil.

Now is the time, rise up and take action!

church, Discipleship Series, General Principles, Law & Grace

If you see it you will remember it…

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When it comes to visual aids God is no slouch.  Knowing us like He does means that He also knows how to get a message across in a 3D visualisation.  One of the best of these is the Tabernacle.

But what was the Tabernacle?  There are a few ways it could be described but my favourite is from Hebrews 8:5 – a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.  Hebrews 9 further elaborates on this particularly in verses 23 to 24:

“Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with [blood of animal sacrifices] but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands which are copies of the true but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”

Well if it is a copy of the true then the true must be like it, right?  So to look at the tabernacle is to look at a copy of heaven, the real thing.

Moses looked into heaven when he was on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24 -32, 34).  Stephen looked into it when he was being stoned (Acts 7:55, 56).  Here is a list of others who have seen it:

  • Isaiah 6:1-7
  • Ezekiel 1
  • Daniel 7:9-14
  • Zechariah 3, 4
  • Paul in 2 Cor. 12:2
  • John in Revelation 4 -20

These – and others  –  all saw the same place and recorded various elements of it.  Some described things Moses wasn’t told to represent, e.g. the four living creatures.  Others saw the same things but described them differently.

So here is a question:  What was God’s original purpose for the Jewish people?  Here’s a hint:  it’s the same purpose He has for the Church today.  The answer is in Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 2:9 – we are a kingdom of priests.

Jesus is central to the whole thing.  Our eternal High Priest, He took His own blood into the true tabernacle which is not of this creation.  Hebrews 9 gives the details.  Daniel also hints at what happened when he saw “One like the Son of Man” present Himself to the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:13-14.  And because Jesus has gone into heaven so can we.  In fact we can enter the Holy of Holies because Jesus has removed the veil that was in front of the Father’s presence.

Apart from being a copy of heaven, which is amazing in itself, the tabernacle has many other things to teach us.  I’m going to choose two fundamental ones: 1.  Becoming a Christian, 2. The main practices of the Christian Life.

1.  Becoming a Christian.

 So what are the stages to becoming a Christian?

The Narrow Gate

You need to enter through the narrow gate at the front of the tabernacle (Matt 7:13-14).  There is a picture here of passing from one dimension to another since it is through this narrow door that we enter into (the copy of) heaven (John 10:7).  Jesus also called it being born again (John 3:5).  Birth is a picture of passing from one place where we breathe and ingest one type of substance (water) to a place where we breathe and ingest quite another (air).

The Cross

Then the Cross (the big bronze altar) is the first thing you see  (Hebrews 10:10-14, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Isaiah 53).  It’s also the thing God sees.  That altar is too big for us to sacrifice on, there was only one offering good enough and Jesus supplied that with His own body once for all.

Baptism

Baptism (in the Spirit and in water) is represented by the bronze laver or sea.  The first time a priest entered the holy place he had to be completely washed (Exodus 40:12, c.f. Romans 6:3-7).  After that he only needed to wash his hands and feet before he went in (c.f. John 13:10).  Water baptism is our response to the gospel, the testimony of a conscience cleared (1 Peter 3:21).  Spirit baptism is a work of God.  Some people say it is a second experience after being born again, some say it is the same as being born again.  Personally I think the Scriptures point to the second interpretation.  Whatever you believe about it just make sure you have it!

Now the way is clear to enter the Holy Place and start practicing the Christian life.

2.  The Practices of a Christian.

Becoming a Christian means becoming a priest (Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9).  After the priests in the old testament received their first complete wash, they were clothed in beautiful garments and were able to enter the Holy Place.  When they entered they found three things:

  1. The Lampstand
  2. The Altar of Incense
  3. The Table of Show Bread

I believe these three items represent three practices, which if followed diligently will ensure we continue to be a blessing to the God who loved us and our fellow man (Matt. 22:37-40).

The Lampstand

In heaven (of which Moses’ tabernacle was a copy remember) according to Revelation 1:20 the lampstand(s) is the Church.  In particular Jesus walked in the midst of the seven lampstands (local churches) in the New Testament whereas the Old Testament lampstand was just one object.  A lampstand is a place to present a light or, in the case of a New Testament church, the place to present the Light of the World (John 8:12).  It was the job of the priests to ensure that the lamp never went out.  In the New Testament this speaks to us about our role as priests to ensure we do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) and to ensure the light is shining forth to the world around (Matt. 5:14-16) not hidden under a basket.

So the first practice is to be an active member of a local church.

2.  The Altar of Incense

In heaven, according to Revelation 5:8, there was an altar upon which the prayers of the saints rose up before the throne of God.  This is represented in Moses’ tabernacle by the altar of incense.  An altar is a place of sacrifice.  This altar is much smaller than the one outside the Holy Place but it is solid gold and speaks of the sacrifices Christians are called upon to make.  These sacrifices have to originate from relationship with God in prayer and through prayer be continued.

So the second practice is to pray and sacrificially act upon the prayers.

3.  The Table of Show Bread

When making the copy of heaven, Moses was commanded to make a table upon which was to be placed fresh bread every day.  Jesus said that “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Luke 4:4) and there are many references to bread and grain being the word (e.g. Matthew 13, John 6:48 and others).  Bread is refined, milled and ground grain with the chaff removed.  This is rather like the bible but more especially like the word(s) of God spoken to us through fellowship with Jesus.

So the third practice is to spend time with Jesus and to hear His words (Luke 10:38-42).

Where is this all going?

Well one place only really – the throne of God.  Thanks be to Jesus the veil that used to separate us from God is removed (Hebrews 10:19-22) and we can enter the presence of the Most High without fear as children coming to a loving father.

We were made for this.

Discipleship Series, General Principles, good news

The sower sows the word

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Luke 8:11 explains that when the Scripture talks about seed it  is referring to the word of God.  Its one of those key verses like Rev. 1:20 which explains an object picture that God uses to describe something spiritual.

The parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 is an important one to understand (Mk 4:13).  Seeing our souls as a garden enclosed (Song 4:12) helps.  It is a very large garden capable of growing all sorts of trees and plants.  Just like any garden, if it is left untended it will grow weeds.  The best thing is to clear it, break it up (Hosea 10:12) and sow the word of God.

However there is a more general sense to the parable of the sower.  If we are sowing the word by preaching it (Romans 10:14,17) then we can probably expect 4 types of hearts upon which it will land:  hard ones, stony ones, congested ones and noble ones.  If we look at the parable of the sower in isolation then it would appear that only about a quarter of the people who hear the word produce fruit.

But Jeremiah 23:28-29 gives us some idea of the power of that word and some hope to those who may think their heart is hard, stony or clogged up with the cares of this life:

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

The fire burns up the thorns and the hammer breaks up the path and stones.  A seed can have tremendous power in even the most adverse conditions.  God’s word is even more effective in the heart.