My 1,000th Post!!

Funny - I had all sorts of plans and ideas for my 1,000th post!

I was wondering about taking a look back to where it all began and some of the highlights and low points of this journey. But that's not how it turned out. Maybe I'll do that or maybe I won't - but there seems to me to be no better way to start a Monday morning than being truly Cross-centred and by that I mean not staring misty-eyed at some icon on my wall. I don't have any icons of the Cross on my wall because (thank God!) He is not there! He's alive today and His Spirit is right next to me ... there. But I have begun transcribing again with a fury - and I've got a few Rob Rufus sermons to catch up. I'm typing "We are God's Workmanship Created in Christ Jesus" (preached on the 24th May 2009) - and what better statement of victory to begin the week with than this?!

"Men wouldn’t die for something they had not experienced first-hand. These men were willing to die, to be burnt alive and crucified upside down for this One because they had seen Him. You don’t go and steal a body and hide it in a secret grave somewhere, claim He is resurrected and then be prepared to die for that. There was no money gained for them – only martyrdom and suffering and death.

You have to see Christ – He is your workmanship that you are created in. You have to see Him as Almighty God before time began – you have to see that He is the one who created time and see He created all things and see the uniqueness of His virgin birth and see the uniqueness of His life of miracles on this planet and see the wonder of the Cross and the cosmic consequences of the Cross where He took away the laws, rules and regulations that were opposed to you and judged you and He cancelled them at the Cross and He forgave all your sins 2, 000 years ago there and took your sins on Himself and didn’t just carry your sins. He obliterated them and He made them totally disappear and He gave you His righteousness!

He disarmed the powers and authorities at the Cross and He triumphed over them and they are now under your feet and you have total authority in the cosmic consequences of the Cross. We are not engaged in a battle to pull principalities and powers down and neutralise them. They have already been neutralised at the Cross! Don’t agree with the lies that they put on your mind. Don’t agree with the depression and oppression and negativity and confusion that they put on your mind! If you keep disagreeing with them they are powerless and don’t have any rights – you are in total dominion over them whether you feel like it or not because you are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus!".

The "Monday-morning" syndrome?! What's that?! I've often wondered about Christ's cries from the Cross. I wondered what they sounded like. I remember a certain preacher once reading them out with the intention of impacting his hearers with the gravity of what they meant. But it's the final cry that is gripping me today - this early Monday morning. I'm convinced that;

"It is FINISHED!".

- was a cry of victory because the Son of God knew what He had done and maybe He heard the cries and screams and groans coming from the defeated and toppled powers of darkness. Maybe He heard the ripping of the veil and in His Spirit saw the ripping of the spiritual veil and the glory of God beginning to shine forth. Maybe He saw the Father close the book of the Old Covenant law once and for all never to judge mankind by it again. Maybe He saw the Father's wrath and anger disappear into a cosmic vortex never to be seen again!

It is truly finished - and to finish means; "To come to an end : terminate ... to defeat or ruin utterly and finally ... to bring to an end" and my personal favourite;

"To bring about the death of".

Thanks to all who still come and read my ramblings - may you know truly and experientially that you are the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus this morning!

Why John Piper (and Dan Bowen) Tweets ...

I loved this blog entry of John Piper's - "Why and How I am Tweeting". There's a rebel in me somewhere that really dislikes the latest "fad". I know that may be a surprise to some. But there is! It explains why I am always one step behind everyone else. I'll get on board if I feel there's pluses to it but until my heart is in it, I'm not very good at it! Traditionally my sort of heroes don't tend to be the sort of men and women who tweet/blog/facebook (although some do - such as Stanley Jebb recently beginning his own blog thanks to Mark Heath!).

I was thrilled and encouraged to read this by John Piper - and be re-challenged by his biblical/God-obsessed perspective and focus on all of these mediums of technology. I've seen some facilities that you can post on your blog saying "This is the 999,999th post I've blogged consecutively" (or something like that) and at times I've felt pressurised to do that. What rubbish! There's only one proper vision to blogging/tweeting/etc-ing and it's expressed by Piper as such;

"Dangers, dangers everywhere. Yes. But it seems to us that aggressive efforts to saturate a media with the supremacy of God, the truth of Scripture, the glory of Christ, the joy of the gospel, the insanity of sin, and the radical nature of Christian living is a good choice for some Christians. Not all".

Piper accurately sees two approaches to these forms of technology;

"One says: These media tend to shorten attention spans, weaken discursive reasoning, lure people away from Scripture and prayer, disembody relationships, feed the fires of narcissism, cater to the craving for attention, fill the world with drivel, shrink the soul’s capacity for greatness, and make us second-handers who comment on life when we ought to be living it. So boycott them and write books (not blogs) about the problem.

The other response says: Yes, there is truth in all of that, but instead of boycotting, try to fill these media with as much provocative, reasonable, Bible-saturated, prayerful, relational, Christ-exalting, truth-driven, serious, creative pointers to true greatness as you can".

Obviously Piper (and I) lean towards respose 2. I think I found that summary really helpful. There is an unhealthy and narcisstic Christian attitude to "come out and not be part of them". Piper for example has chosen not to have a television and I respect and applaud and understand that. My mum and dad never allowed us to have a television when we were growing up and I am forever grateful - it made me the bibliophile that I am! I do have a television now and enjoy it. The absolute key is that legalism is kept out of it.

Not having a television does not make you "more spiritual" and "more accepted" in the eyes of God than having a television. Not drinking alcohol does not make you "more spiritual" or "more accepted" in the eyes of God than those who drink alcohol. These are decisions that should be reached personally and I think we should be cautious of pastor/teachers who try and influence such participatory decisions for you.

I love this poem of John Piper's to end;

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky
Puts camels through a needle’s eye.
And if his wisdom see it mete,
He will put worlds inside a tweet.

I will try and see this in the future. I won't blog or tweet unless the sovereign Lord puts words there. Otherwise they are just my words. And frankly the media world is saturated-full of people and their own words! I don't want to add to that - I have nothing to add to that. But if the Lord chooses to speak through me then I will indeed "speak what I see".

Oh and John Piper tweets here!

Dr Stanley Jebb Hits the Blogging World!!

I've just come back from a blessed day of fellowship with two childhood friends - Mark Heath and J-D Laurence - in Bristol and their respective families. We spent many happy hours discussing theology and the past and our church experiences. One of the most exciting pieces of news that Mark told me was that my prayers have been answered and my former senior pastor has given in to popular demand and has begun a website/blog!

It's here;

"Alethinos Reflections"

One of his first posts is absolute vintage Stanley Jebb - "Books and Reading". He writes;

"A minister must read. A leader must be a reader. The Apostle Paul sent for the books and the parchments (2 Timothy 4:13). But there are three obstacles to overcome if a minister is to read much: the money to buy them, the time to read them, and the choice of what to read from the vast choice available".

This emphasis from Dr Jebb was one of the things that convinced me to join Mark Heath and set up a "Quotes Blog" and read with the purpose of absorbing other men and women's wisdom and using it and not allowing said ministries to fade into history.

It will most certainly be a blog I am following and recommend it highly for readers who want a high quality, Reformed, teaching blog full of years of experience and wisdom. My parents are having them to lunch tomorrow and I can't wait to hear what was discussed!

Ern Baxter on Romans and Righteousness!!

I've been thinking quite a bit about this blog and it's direction particularly as the majority of my time is taken up with Rob Rufus's ministry and transcribing his sermons over here. My initial attraction to Rob Rufus's ministry in July 2007 in Brighton was how he reminded me of Ern Baxter. I was thrilled therefore to find that Ern was one of Rob's heroes! And while I've tried to publish and transcribe a lot of Ern's ministry there is still so much more to share and be heard and not be forgotten.

So I have got out a box of Ern's video sessions at the Anglia Bible Week in 1985 (I was merely 8 years old!). He brought a series on the first few chapters of Romans upto chapter 8. A lot of the material is extremely theological and deep but I want to publish video clips that mark and highlight and back up this outstanding message and walk of grace many of us are on.

The first is a clip where Ern is talking about righteousness and it's inevitable triumph. But he begins by speaking about how wrong it is and what a blasphemy to the Cross it is to remain pseudo-humbly thinking of ourselves as "worms" and focusing on our sin. Now I understand the word "righteousness" as "right standing with God", it is possible to hear this clip in a new wonderful light!

Worse Geeky!!

I blame Pete Day for this one. We spent an awesome day together yesterday waiting on God in prayer and prophecy - seeking His will and His direction for our lives. We also got to go visit Spurgeon's tomb which was a very emotional experience. Pictures are here! But even worse he convinced me to join Twitter. Shame oh shame I know!

Even though I was quite tired from driving to London and back and I'm off to Bristol and back again today - I found myself up late seeking interesting people to follow! I found Barak Obama and Christianity Today and Hillsongs Church in Australia as well as some friends and the odd hero like Jon Daniel from Coastlands Church in Adelaide and Joseph Prince. If anyone is on Twitter then look me up and I'll follow you!

We'll see how it all turns out! Probably more random than Facebook! I was hoping to blog a bit this week as I'm off but it's packed out trying to catch up with friends and family. All normal service to resume next week!

Prophecy from Pete Day Re: The Grace Revolution!!

I was pretty excited this morning after getting in from work for various reasons and I emailed Pete Day with some of my thoughts. And I got this reply - which I take utterly and totally to be prophetic;

"Glory!!!

This is just so amazing. There is a great work going on, a linking of grace-lovers around the world. God is raising up grace revolutionaries in every city, and just as the printing press released the glory of justification by faith to the reformers some 500 years ago, so in this day, the e-mail, the text message, the blog, the conference, and the books, will fuel the grace revolutionaries. So no grace revolutionary need stand alone because fire is going to be imparted around the world through these means.

The grace revolutionaries are not going to have to wait months and years for fresh ammunition to come to them, but there is going to be an impartation of truth and anointing across the earth, and lonely revolutionaries are going to be filled with truth, grace and power. As the revolutionaries receive this impartation of glory, and as they pour it out to their friends and their flocks, so mighty grace revolutionary armies are going to be raised up, and church by church, with great battle, street by street, with great battle, city by city, with great battle, and ultimately nation by nation, the message of God’s grace and the accompanying cloud of His glory will envelop the globe and the Son of God will have His promised inheritance".

This prophecy in many ways answers the cries of my heart from when I was driving to work last night. I noticed that recently the "Rob Rufus - Grace and Glory Blog" has jumped hits quite considerably from around 20, 000 to 30, 000 hits! Thanks to everyone who has come and visited! I suspect it is something to do with Rob's awesome "Established in the Gift of Righteousness series" which have opened my eyes to the gift of righteousness! But while I was rejoicing in that I still had a sense of profound dissatisfaction that 30, 000 hits is such a small number when you consider the billions lost across China and the Middle Eastern world who are bound in law and legalism.

And I was crying out to God to show me how I can be more effective in playing my small part to spread the message of the fires of grace because I felt so far away from Hong Kong and from City Church and these amazing pioneers. I felt lonely! There aren't many people around here that stand for grace and glory. This prophecy answers that and the email I got this morning from Ryan Rufus that so excited me. So God has answered so quickly! And I am thrilled!

Let it be done Lord! Even so come Lord Jesus and take Your promised inheritance!

Yikes!!

My Father is soo amazing and wonderful and knows exactly when encouragement is needed! I had to get up early on this Saturday morning because I have to go to a rather difficult meeting which I've been dreading. It seems to me that just as soon as I get a tantalising grip on grace and the blessings of the New Covenant there's always something isn't there to come try and throw you off! So I got up and was sitting drinking my cup of tea and found to my surpise that Cyberranger has awarded this blog as "Best Christian Blog of the Week"!

You have to understand I was always the kind of child who NEVER won awards at the Christian school I went to. Mainly because the teachers always thought I was a sulky brat! Correction! I won just one award called; "The Character Development Award". Essentially it was known as the "Naughty but Nice" award. I used to be a brat - and by the time I won the award I could just about muster a smile at my hated deputy headmaster! Just winning the award then was seen as a bit of an insult anyway!

So this is really nice, totally undeserved and an awesome blessing. I always get really excited when someone new comments on my blog. It's like meeting a new friend - with new links to new blogs that look like they are going to be great! So this is a good moment to thank you all - each and every reader who takes the time to drop by. Time is a precious commodity in this day and age and the fact you would even take a few minutes to read my ramblings ... well! So I dedicate this award to each and everyone of you. The hurting and lonely housewife wondering if God has forgotten about her (He hasn't!). The geeky college student growing up wondering if they will ever be popular. The Christian with skeletons in your closet you are terrified anyone will find out about. God is CRAZY about you! Because I am learning He loves me and if He loves me then He most surely loves you!

Have a great weekend!

Just getting over it??

This post has arisen as a result of a discussion held a few weeks ago on another blog, and also various personal attacks on Dan. A number of us (including Dan, Julie and Lydia and Don) have been thinking about the whole question of forgiveness. Dan has shared something in the past of a terrible experience as a member of a previous church. He has been told this: "You need to forgive, forget, move on and just get over it."

It has taken me longer to finish this post than I had planned, but here goes:

I want to ask the question - is it right to say to another believer "just get over it?" Is that the essence of forgiveness, or is it an over-simplification.

In our men's fellowship last month someone asked the question - "Should Christians always forgive AND forget?" The reason for the question was because in our church Sunday School one the kids had asked the question about bullying. Should a child who is being bullied at school "forgive and forget" even if the bully is continuing to bully the child and other children?

Let me give you some further scenarios:

A young person who is abused by a respected figure, a teacher, a youth leader… Should they “just get over it” and go on as if nothing has happened? Yes, they need the grace of God to release His forgiveness in their hearts, but, no, no they must not “just get over it”. Instead they need to say “this person has done these things” in order to protect others (and protect themselves from future abuse).

A wife being beaten by her husband… Should she “just get over it” and go on living daily with the abuse and putting her life in danger? No!!! Yes, she needs the grace of God to fill her heart with peace and not hold bitterness against her husband, but she needs to get out of the home and report the behaviour of her husband – for her own protection, and for the sake of those who might fall under her husband’s spell.

And those being bullied... Should they “just get over it and forget about it and move on”?? No, no!!! Yes, they need the grace of God to forgive and not hold bitterness in their hearts, and to be freed from fear. But – they must, for their own sake and others, have the courage to report what the bully is doing so that the bully is dealt with.

So what about a person who has suffered wrong in his/her church? Is there a difference? Very often the usual texts are rolled out by the leadership (eg - Heb 13v17: "Obey your leaders and submit to them..."). But where wrong has taken place, isn't it right to share that wrong? If people are being led blindly to submit to the ungodly exercise of leadership, then surely it is right to warn people about the dangers.

Of course it is right to submit godly leadership. It is right to forgive leaders (or any believer) who have hurt or offended you. On many occasions as a pastor I have been blessed to receive people's forgiveness because I have said or done things that have been wrong and hurtful.

Why forgiveness is important

Many old covenant preachers thunder about forgiveness as a legal requirement in order to maintain a person's standing with God. Especially as forgiveness is not easy - it is a hard and painful choice - and the thundering of love and "obey your leaders", when real hurt has been caused, simply piles condemnation on a person already suffering the pain of wrong.

But forgiveness is important. We're reminded "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4v32). It is a great call to every believer - to forgive unconditionally. It's not easy! Yet it is also so liberating. Firstly, we are the righteousness of God all the time. So forgiveness is not in order to become righteous, but simply an overflow of the grace of God in our lives. Secondly, because unforgiveness is a terrible burden - it can lead to a root of bitterness that defiles us and others (Heb 12v15).

At the same time, forgiveness is a choice. It is choosing to release your right to vengeance to the Lord - "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" (Rom 12v19). So forgiveness is a choice we make to leave the judgement of a person who has wronged us up to God. It is a difficult choice, because our natural sense of justice, yet to is so freeing to let the person go - we haven't got to demand justice because God is the judge of the whole earth and He will do right.

But grace has taught me something else - the same cross that obliterated my sins has obliterated the sins committed against me. 2 Cor 5v19 - "...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them..." I had struggled with this verse because my narrow view of reformed theology told me that Christ only died for the sins of the elect. But that isn't what this verse says - it says the world!! See also John 1v29, 1 John 2v2. So the blood which availed for me availed for them too! So, why should I carry the rage, fury and pain for something that has been dealt with on the cross?

All these things are reasons to forgive and helps in the battle for forgiveness. But I thank God that my standing is not because I forgive but because of the cross. We are being sanctified, we are being changed from glory to glory - our condition is changing while our position is unchanged and totally secure in Christ. Whether we forgive or not, while we are dealing with the pain - we are still the righteousness of God in Christ.

What is forgiveness?

But is forgiveness just "getting over it?" Does it require that I forget what has happened?

Hebrews 10v17 says that God will remember our sins no more. But that doesn't mean that God suffers from amnesia. We as finite human beings remember the things we often don't want to remember and forget the things we do want to remember. Yet God, in His infinite power, has the choice to put things away from His thinking about us. He has obliterated our sins in Christ and so deals with us as if we have no sin!! Glory!!!

For us as finite human beings, forgiveness does not necessarily involve forgetting. Forgetting may come after we have forgiven; as the pain heals the memory of what has happened may fade. Forgiveness is rather making the choice to let the issue go and, as I said before, release it to God, even fully aware of the pain of what has happened.

It is a hard choice. It is a choice that you will not hold what a person has done against them; that you will treat them as if they haven't sinned against you, that you will not seek revenge, but you will rather pray for their good and their deliverance.

It is a high, high calling, but there is abundant grace from God for this. It is also a lifetime calling. We let things go, we chose to forgive, but then a passing comment from someone, a stray thought, and the hurt arises again - and we have to make that choice again by the grace of God - "Father, I release this person to you, I forgive them as You have forgiven me. I give to You my hurt and claim my healing."

Forgiveness is a lifestyle – when that anger arises it can be released back to the Lord who does bind up the broken hearted. He wants us totally free of bitterness. For all of us, Dan included, this means there are daily struggles, but I have known Dan as a dear friend for almost ten years; he has shared his life and his struggles with me; I know there are still daily battles to forgive, but I know Dan is committed to walking free from bitterness and revelling in the grace of God.

Forgiving and speaking out

There is grace even to love those people who have led as false shepherds. But, forgiveness does not mean remaining silent. If there are things that are wrong, they need to be spoken about. No, we don’t go around sowing division in the church we have left (and I know Dan has just stayed away), but when we see things that are out of order, when we see the precious gospel being undermined by legalism, when we see heavy shepherding and lives being crushed, then it is right to speak out. It doesn’t mean we are harbouring bitterness, it simply means we are (as Julie reminds us) “not giving in to them even for a moment.”

This blog is not about an angry rant, it is about declaring and defending the glorious gospel. And when Dan (and indeed all of us) speaking out because the glorious gospel being undermined by law so that it is not a gospel at all, then we say, "Dan, preach it brother!!".

You may have noticed that there are other names on this of contributors. Dan asked a number of his trusted brothers and sisters in Christ to become joint-editors of this blog. He would like to be accountable to us for what he writes and would like us to challenge him if he writes anything that is not of the right spirit. Speaking personally, I don't think he needs that and some of the brothers and sisters he asked said "no" for that reason. This blog is Holy Spirit inspired and doesn't need the restrictions of man putting upon it. At the same time, fellowship is good - and it is a joy to have other names on the contributors list so that together we can declare the glorious gospel of new covenant grace and power.

God bless you, Dan. This blog is a light to many, many readers, and I believe that God is going to use it for His glory for many days ahead.

Chris takes the plunge!!

There's never a more exciting moment for me when a dear friend takes the plunge and launches into the weird and wonderful world of blogging. Despite the multitude of blogs, there are still precious few that warrant a visit - that I know are going to be producing material that is spiritually stirring, theologically precise but above all urging a deeper relationship with our beloved Lord. Chris is one such friend I've been urging privately and publicly to start up his own blog. He is probably one of the most faithful commentators on my blog in the past few months and many will have noticed that his comments are usually quite lengthy but always stimulating and deserving of a blog post of their own!

Well he's done it - and what a more prophetically significant date to begin than 8th August 2008.

Here it is: "On Now to the 3rd Level ...".

I can't recommend it enough. There's one post there at the moment, but I suspect Chris is going to swiftly change that and I am eager for post after post which continually motivates the Church and never let's us settle at the present status quo (the mess we are in) - but demands that the Church lifts it's head and follows the heart beat of God and looks to the optimistic bright future where the earth SHALL be filled with the glory of God!

On Holiday for a Week!!

This is just a short note to say I am flying from the UK tomorrow early morning for a week's holiday in the Mediterranean with a group of friends!! It will be absolutely lovely to have some real sun (scarce here in the UK!) and also have some quality resting time. I've got a pile of books to do some quality reading and my IPOD is bristling with sermons just begging to be transcribed! I hopefully may get access to an internet cafe while abroad - but just a warning that posting may be a bit sporadic!

I really pray that you all have an awesome week - where the grace of God freshly falls upon you and His manifest, glorious Presence makes itself so obvious to you! Speak more on my return with revelations I hope God shares while away!!

Pentecostal/Charismatic Post-it Notes Hits 1,000 Quotes!!

For those of you unaware, a group of us run a blog of quotes called; "Pentecostal/Charismatic Post-it Notes" and it's aim was to draw together quotes about all theological issues but mainly those concerning Pentecostal/Charismatic issues. I wanted it to be a forum so that anyone with an interest in these sorts of theological topics could use the labels and search to their hearts content. One of the key quotes I read and was given by Dr Stanley Jebb that prompted me to try and gather these altogether was by C H Spurgeon and he said;

"The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brains of his own ... You need to read".

I know that traditionally Pentecostal/Charismatics are not renowned for being theological with a passion to "search the Scriptures daily and see if these things are so" - in this blog I wanted to change that perception.

I noticed the other day that it has just had it's 1, 000 quote added! Ironically the 1, 000th quote was by John MacArthur.

There are many other issues and authors that are worth reading about all added by my group of friends. Jesse's quotes are here. Scott's quotes are here. Julie's quotes are here and Pete's quotes are here (oh and my quotes are here!). What else may interest?

Rob Rufus's quotes are here.

Ern Baxter's quotes are here.

"Together on a Mission 2007" are here.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit quotes are here.

Ephesians 4 Ministries quotes are here.

Hope to carry on adding quotes as they arise through reading!! And trust it proves of interest!!

Newfrontiers Conference in Europe!!

Many thanks to contributer Shawna for this really exciting link. The European Newfrontiers Conference sounded pretty exciting and obviously I have heard Rob's report on it here but the audio links are now available here! We have;

Session 1: An In Between People - Henk Kersten

Session 2: Mixing It With Faith - David Holden

Session 3: A Covenant Of Grace - Rob Rufus

Session 4: Moving Into More Faith - David Holden

Session 5: Being Obedient To Faith - Rob Rufus

Session 6: The Wrath Of God And The Grace Of God - Mike Betts

I am greatly looking forward to working through the sessions because sadly we missed hearing Dave Holden speak at last year's "Together on a Mission" - and he is one of my favourite Newfrontiers speakers without a doubt. I haven't heard Mike Betts or Hank Kersten before - but obviously I hope to bring out the transcripts of Rob's sessions as soon as my horrible week calms down!

Updated Archive of Rob Rufus Sermons!!

I've updated the Archive of Rob Rufus sermons with some new additions to his marvellous preaching ministry. There are some sermons that are a MUST-read!

"Grace for Freedom and Fruitfulness Series - (1) - Freedom from Dead Works." - 19th February 2006 - this was thanks to Todd Woodgate (a member of City Church International and the latest addition to the "Rob Rufus" blogging team!).

"Testimonies From Europe Ministry Trip" - 25th May 2008 - this was Rob reporting on his recent time in the United Kingdom and Europe with Newfrontiers churches.

"Do Christians Need To Confess Their Sins To God?" - 8th June 2008 - this was a combined effort between Todd and myself. It truly is a landmark sermon that will maybe stir up controversy. But if the truth of it is allowed to sink in then it will bring such freedom, such joy, such celebration that the Church will never be the same again.

"The Power of the Printed Word" by Don Basham

from New Wine Magazine - July 1982

"When God wants to communicate the gospel to men, He rarely uses angels. He uses men. In the book of Acts we read that God sent an angel to Cornelius to tell him to ask Peter to preach the gospel to him. Why didn't the angel himself just preach the gospel to Cornelius? Because that is not the way the gospel is spread. The good news is preached by men and as we men have the burden to publish the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our motivation as publishers - whether of magazines, newsletters or tapes - is to communicate God's truth.

We believe that God has entrusted us with a truly significant ministry, and because of that we want to enlist your prayers and your support. Our vision of the work we have to do can be outlined briefly by ten observations concerning the significance of the printed word in ministry.

1. The published word prepares the way for personal ministry.

As the members of the Educational Board have travelled in ministry over the years, we have discovered a greater degree of preparedness among audiences in areas where our literature has gone before us to pave the way for the spoken ministry.

2. The published word greatly extends personal ministry.

The written word can reach a much broader audience than the spoken word. I began to realize this truth 3 weeks after "Face Up with a Miracle" was published when I received a letter from a missionary in Thailand who said that the book was being used to help foster a tremendous spiritual revival there. Almost overnight, my ministry had extended halfway round the world.

3. The published word refines our personal ministry.

When we first present the word of God in a spoken setting, it is usually at the developing stage. But by the time the word is published, it has been refined, clarified, distilled and matured.

4. The published word perpetuates personal ministry.

In other words, the published word becomes permanent. We can be grateful for that because if all we had was the oral tradition of Bible times, much that God said to His people probably would have been lost. The vast volume of literature that is our heritage exists because the revelations given by God to inspired men through the years have been put in a permanent record and widely distributed.

5. The published word is extremely portable.

Books, tapes, newsletters and magazines will go into places that a person would never be able to go.

6. The published word seems non-threatening and disarming.

Often people in need of ministry may feel threatened by a church or other group setting. In such a situation, a publication can often get into a home or any other setting and bring about a revolution.

Although the published word is innocent in appearance it actually has the power to change lives.

7. The published word is comparably inexpensive.

We can distribute a great deal of significant truth over a vast area for a relatively small amount of money.

8. The published word can be distributed in tremendous quantities.

With the proper resources we can blanket an area, a nation or even the world with the truth of the gospel.

9. God anoints the published word just as He does the spoken word.

We continually recieve testimonies about how God used the things that have been written and recorded. People's lives have often been dramatically changed by what they have read - even healings have taken place when God anointed someone's use of the material. I once received a letter of testimony from a young housewife who had polio and been on crutches for six years. She had been sitting in her laundry room reading "Face Up With a Miracle". Without realizing that God had touched her as she read, she got up, walked over to the washing machine and was emptying out before she realized that she had left her crutches behind.

The Lord had healed her as she sat in the chair reading the book, God will anoint the published word just as He will anoint personal ministry.

10. Finally the published word preserves and provides a record of God's revelation to His people in our day.

Every generation has a responsibility to record it's own heritage of God's dealings with them. The published word preserves our heritage and leaves a legacy for generations to come.

We believe that by God's grace He has given us a unique ministry. The five of us - Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Ern Baxter and myself - who by His design were joined together more than a decade ago, certainly don't have the only message God is speaking today. But we believe that He has given us a unique and distinct message, and we feel a deep responsibility as stewards of it. We have come to see that one way God can extend, bless and use our message is through the published word. So we ask your prayers and support to help us be faithful in the presentation of the ministry that God has entrusted to us.

"A Sleeping Giant" by Bob Mumford

from New Wine Magazine - July 1982

"Recently the Lord clearly reminded me of something the apostle James said; "Although ships are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder" (James 3:4). Then He added,

"Just as surely as the ship can be turned by the rudder, so the Church can be turned by the prophetic word".

And with that word from God came a tremendous gift of faith into my spirit. Much of the Church seems to have surrendered our nation and our future to the devil, giving in to the despairing attitude, "It's bad and it's getting worse". But the prophetic burden I feel these days is that God wants to help us awaken the sleeping giant that is the Church, stirring that sleeping giant by His prophetic word, so that just as a rudden turns a huge ship, we can change the direction we are going. If God will help us to publish the prophetic word as He was saying it, I have no doubt in my own heart that even the nations of the world can be turned towards God and His Kingdom.

The task is ours. And to help us understand some of the unique opportunities we have for fulfilling this task, I want to make a few brief observations about what is happening in our society today;

1. An increasing collapse of confidence in the academic community.

Little by little a college degree is meaning less. The academic world has promised much and delivered little and gradually the tremendous hope once placed in the academic world is being eroded. The problems facing us are not primarily educational, but moral and spiritual.

2. A continuing rise of the occult and the demonic.

Interestingly enough, this increase is apparantly forcing the Church to find answers. Many churches that previously avoided the supernatural realm of ministry are now beginning to ask questions because of the extent of demonic activity.

3. The failure of the "isms".

Communism is failing. It is no longer the irresistable monster that we have feared would gobble up the world. The Communists have made promises but they have failed to deliver and little by little all over the world the whole Communist empire is beginning to shake. Secular humanism is also failing as people are beginning to understand that our hope cannot be based on the human race.

4. The "sixties generation" is like a sleeping tiger.

I feel very deeply in my spirit that there is an entire generation of young people who have refused empty religion and are hungr for something real and alive. The rebellious, restless youth of the sixties may wear three-piece suit now but they are still searching. I believe that God will enable us to speak to the "sixties generation" a message that is real and powerful and they will respond.

If the Church is to respond effectively to these opportunities we must recognize three basic hungers in present society:

a. Our generation is hungry for the supernatural.

Though most would not admit it, they are seeking a genuine encounter with the living Christ - not just some intellectual assent to truth, but a real vital spiritual experience with a living Person.

b. Our generation is becoming increasingly hungry for something to live and die for outside of themselves.

The more selfish you become, the more miserable you are, until finally you say; "There must be something else to live for".

c. Our generation is hungry for a clear, non-religious proclamation of the gospel.

The message of the Kingdom of God must be proclaimed without the artificial religious trappings which have so often been an unnecessary stumbling block to our generation. I see things trembling and shaking everywhere.

If ever there were a time when the sleeping giant of the Church needs to wake up, it is now. We need to stand strong in a positive attitude and say; "I believe this nation can be turned". And if this nation can be turned, what about the others? The hour is now.

When You Believe ...

It's interesting how a kind of secular song and a secular TV personality have both been used by God to speak to me in the last couple of days! I've been taking the concept of God speaking through dreams a lot more seriously since I listened to Kylie and Ryan Rufus's excellent sermon; "Unlocking Your Ability To Hear God Through Dreams". So the night before last I had quite an odd dream but I have been thinking about it and feel God was trying to say something through it. Here's what I saw;

"I was standing in the background to basically what was the talent show; "Britain's Got Talent" and Simon Cowell was of course on the judging panel. Only I could only see Simon there. Suddenly a little baby appeared that I knew without a doubt was his son! Simon Cowell seemed as amazed as everyone else in the room and it seemed that it was some sort of miracle. So everyone was scrambling for their phones to try and video whatever this baby was going to do but I suddenly had my phone out and was recording".

So a couple of things came to my mind and I read Jim Goll's book which had some useful insights. I think I saw Simon Cowell as representative of God. This isn't particularly a good thing because it suggests that despite months of listening to Rob's teaching on grace I still see God as a kind of "judge" who needs to be impressed with me! But the baby seems to represent the new move of God - the new atmosphere that God is bringing into the earth at this hour. Lakeland in Florida and the Glory Encounters Conference are just two examples of this. I am seeing miracles and signs and wonders that I NEVER thought I would before!

And what I felt God say was that the calling He has on me at the moment is to record what I see. As C H Spurgeon put it; "Write down what you see". I don't know why. I would much prefer to be moving in signs and wonders and miracles but as Kaye Beyer said - be faithful in what you are doing and God will provide a ministry for you. So to the best of my ability I will go on watching eagerly what happens in Hong Kong and in Florida and in Canada and in London and in Brighton and I will write down what I see.

The second thing that happened was that I was debating with myself how best to transcribe Rob's sermon from last Sunday; "Invading the Impossible - Part 14 - Condemning Condemnation". The first 40 minutes virtually of the sermon are him reading out testimonies from people over the world and I didn't intend to bother transcribing it. I was just going to type out the last ten minutes or so of Rob teaching on "Condemnation" - because it truly was masterful. However I was driving to work last night and this song came on my IPOD quite randomly;



And all the hurt and disappointment began to flow through me as I drove that I have yet to see miracles and signs and wonders and the heavy manifest Presence of God break out here in Birmingham where I live. Do I have to spend my life travelling to places like Hong Kong or Florida? Why can't there be a portal of glory HERE?! I felt God apply this song so gently and fatherly and tenderly to my spirit. KEEP believing! KEEP looking! KEEP hungry! KEEP trusting! KEEP longing! It's coming!

So I guess I dedicate this song to those of you who are like me. You're not seeing the full blast of glory yet! The gold dust and the angel feathers and the gems and all the sorts of wonderful things that I am hearing about in these testimonies that Rob was reading. And I knew without a shadow of doubt that I should type the whole sermon out in it's entirety. Yes it's not Rob preaching - but these testimonies are faith-building and they are reminding us of what can be! And what will be! I dread - I utterly dread - coming to a point where I adapt my theology to cessationism simply because "I'm not seeing it". So it will be coming soon .... here!

90,000 Hits and almost 700 Posts ...

Wow! What can I say? This blog hit 80,000 hits on Wednesday 6th February 2008 and in just over 2 months for some reason 10,000 hits have passed by this site. 10,000! I have never pretended that this blog was promoting my writing, my sermons (because I don't preach) or anything else of mine other than my random thoughts! Like my best friend Pete, I am nervous of self-promotion. "Life on Wings" was started to try and promote the neglected teaching of Dr Ern Baxter (and I hope has been somewhat successful in restoring his name back to the Christian community). But the end of 2007 and the start of 2008 has been extremely special for me. I visited the "Grace and Glory Conference" in Hong Kong and had my life literally turned around because I first encountered the love of God for me as a Father. The FIRST time in my decades as a Christian and Spirit-baptised. I encountered His Presence! And I encountered His power!

So in the grand scheme of things - I really don't care if this blog ever reaches 100,000 hits. I don't care if I am ever seen as a "Christian celebrity blogger" (what's one of those anyway and what do they do!?). I've got no desire to attend a Christian blogger get-together and discuss blogging techniques! But I DO care that each and every reader who comes across this website - yes that means YOU - encounters the Presence and power of God in Jesus Christ. And I mean EVERYONE. I don't just mean my good and dear friends who I am so grateful for and love dearly - such as Pete, Julie and Aaron, Lydia, Jesse, Janelle, Luke Wood, Mark and Steph Heath and of course my ever-faithful rock Scotty! I hope you know my passion for you all to experience the life-changing Presence of God in a manifest encounter that you never forget.

But I also mean people who I have clashed with in my short blogging life such as the angry anonymous person, Eutychus and yes - even my parent's pastors. I realised tonight that in the grand scheme - the eternal vastness of heaven when we stand before the Throne and finally see our Beloved Face to face there will be no room for grudges or for disagreements! And I don't want to have any regrets on that great and awesome day when we can see the glory of God unveiled! I want to be able to run into His arms and feel His intimacy without hindrance and be able to share that with EVERY Christian brother and sister. So my prayer for you (who probably don't even come and visit anymore!) will know His Presence step into the room as you are reading.

I typed this tonight (from Rob Rufus):

"I want to be among a people that love God and His glory more than they love anything else! They want God - they want to know His voice and hear His voice! We live in a generation of people who don't know God and if He walked in they wouldn't know what His Presence is. They never heard His voice once audibly on the inside of them! They don't know the character of God - the nature of God - they are not even friends with God! God is just a concept to them ... Every believer under the New Covenant is meant to hear the voice of God - know God - walk with God - have His Presence in their lives".

And I can't mark the 90,000 hit and the almost-700th post than with a blogging prayer. Hope that's okay! Can one pray in a blog? I hope so. Ah well - I will give it a go anyhow! This prayer is for each and every person who is reading this. I don't know who you are (I don't understand or follow those internet tracking pages with maps). But the Holy Spirit does and I hope that He will apply the faith in my heart to bless YOU!

"Father ... just that word alone is worthy enough of making me stop and worship! That I can call YOU Father?! Father, I touched what it really means to know Your passion and Your love for me as Your son in Hong Kong in that fire tunnel. And it was only a glimpse! But oh what a glimpse! "The greatest thing oh Lord I see - You delight in me!". I've spent so long trying so desperately to impress You and yet stupidly been blind - that I can't impress You! But YOU can most certainly impress me! Father God, I don't know why You got me blogging. I hope my keyboard has been the pen of the ready writer - poised to write what I see. If I didn't then I'm so sorry. But I ask that You would hear my prayer tonight.

I KNOW You'll hear my prayer! Because You sent Your only and beloved Son to die for me! And when He died, His righteousness was imputed to me! Free! By grace! So tonight You have obliterated my sins and I stand in Your courts and Your scepter of grace is extended to me! Wow! Wow oh wow! Such grace demands worship yet again! But the wonder, the awesome truth is that I know this request - this prayer will reach Your ears because You are eager to hear me. Your surprise is that I don't come more often - and again, I am sorry. I have allowed disappointment to make my heart sick rather than taking your "hiding" as an invite to press in deeper into You!

But I am here now! Oh God I am here now and my request isn't small! My request is for a revealing of Your Presence across the planet that You have created! I ask that each and EVERY person who reads these words and is sitting at their keyboards now will know Your sure and certain love for them. NOW! Father will You pour out Your Fire upon them? NOW! Your Word promises so many times that I cannot even count - Your passion to pour out and reveal Yourself so all I am asking is that You will do as You promised! Do more than bless - show Your glory, show Your very Presence to Your dear children sitting and reading this most uneloquent, undeserved prayer.

Why do I ask this God? Oh I have an agenda! I am gripped, I am seized by Your promise that the earth will be covered with Your glory! And I suspect Your intention and Your plan is that when Your Church lifts it's gaze and sees that the light of the glory of Zion has dawned upon it, we will become what You intended us to be! I want to see the glory of Your Presence advance across the globe so that the cry goes up; "Who can extinguish this spreading flame"?! NO-ONE! Maybe an unsaved person is reading this. Maybe with hatred, maybe with apathy, maybe with guilt - for Your law has come and shown them their need of a Saviour. Oh God ... You so loved the world that You gave Your Son! You LOVE the world! Pour out Your love tonight. Show Your people, Your Precious One and Only Begotten, Now Seated and Reigning Son - Jesus Christ!

Do it for Your glory Lord! Reveal Your Presence that Your power may go forth in signs and wonders and miracles! That Your Church will not look to Rob Rufus's or to Terry Virgo's or to Benny Hinn's or to John Piper's or to C J Mahaney's to do the job for us. So that Your Church may realise that we ARE a royal priesthood! A holy nation! A chosen race called! Let Your Church arise King Jesus! And let Your enemies be scattered! Let Your angelic warriors advance forward tonight and bring ministering peace to the broken, healing to the sick, miracles to the hopeless and salvation to the lost!".

Again ... thank you for coming - for reading - for disagreeing when you do because you make me think. Thank you! Oh may His Presence fall on you tonight! (Or this morning if you are across time zones!). May He come! May He visit you! May His face shine upon you! Like Rob Rufus said in this sermon I am transcribing: "I am so desperate for God's glory!". We may have differing theologies but let our passion be united - a desperation for His glory!

80, 000 Hits!! (and other stuff) ...

Well every now and then I try to do a post just noting some of the things which are going on around the blogging world (as there is generally quite a bit!). Some call it "blog-spotting", I guess others call it being plain nosy! I am absolutely amazed to have just hit "80, 000" hits. Thank you all for coming and visiting and reading and coming back again. I appreciate you all - especially those of you who take the time to leave comments! But here's a bit of what's going on;

Glory and Grace Conference, Sydney 2008

In Hong Kong last October Rob Rufus promised that if another conference was planned we would have a bit more warning than last years - I think it was about 5 months to plan. Alas it seems that the Holy Spirit moved a bit faster than he did - the next "Glory and Grace Conference" is going to happen at the end of March -next month! It is being held in Sydney at Fini and Isi de Gersigny's church - Jubilee International Church. I wrote here that sadly it's a bit too soon for me to be able to go - finding money for air fares, hotels and getting time off work. But this will be a year to look forward to with the CD's!

Ryan Rufus is Publishing!

I've mentioned it before and it is available on the links but I really want to emphase this. My dear friend Julie Morris wrote to Ryan Rufus to ask for some comments and help on "Grace Empowered Sanctification". He did more than write back with comments - he sent the first draft chapter of a book he is writing on "Sanctification by Grace". It's available here - do go and read! Here's my favourite quote:

"Our eternal position cannot be influenced by our current condition. But our current condition can be influenced by our eternal position! That's what this whole book is about!!!".

And Finally ... I've Got It!

It was 2006 when I first mentioned the "Jonathan Edwards Blank Bible" released by Yale University Press. There was always some dispute over the price whether it was worth paying around £125 for one volume! (It turns out it was actually two - Old Testament and New Testament). But my appetite was whetted by visiting the Evangelical Library in London and reading some of the glorious insights into Scripture that Jonathan Edwards had. Well thanks to some money for Christmas from family and friends, my copy finally arrived at Wesley Owen in Birmingham today! (I don't think they had ever heard of the book or seen anything so expensive!).

Why is it such a treasure worth having? Well this Yale University videoblog gives an insight;

I have already flicked through the "Blank Bible" and there are some glorious quotes. On Galatians 5:21, Edwards wrote;

"Against such there is no law" - "Therefore if ye are led by the Spirit you don't need the law for the Spirit produces the fruit that the law obliges to, without being under the exaction of the law. The Spirit of love fulfills the law".

On Ephesians 2:6, he wrote;

"And made us to sit together in heavenly places" - "In places of heavenly honour and dignity, places above any place of earthly honour and trust. Believers sit in the place of priests unto God, and in the place of kings. They are in places of heavenly dominion and divine dignity. But it is in Christ by virtue of their union with Him, they are partakers of His honour and dominion".

We are partakers of the Risen Christ's honour and dominon! Truly He has given us authority to go and do the works which He did and greater works! It sounds very Rob Rufus-esque doesn't it?! More quotes to come I am sure as I read it. But I am really hoping this book will serve as a insight into a man of God who hungered after knowing more of Him in true encounter.

The Blogging Life of Dan Bowen!!

Recently I was having an enjoyable chat to Don Baker - a trusted friend of mine and a father in the faith to me. He made a comment that startled me and took me back somewhat. He said;

"I've been wondering what you've been up to -- your blogs are so quiet these days!".

I wasn't aware that I was quiet! But Don went on to say that he hadn't realised I had been posting mostly on "Life on Wings" covering the Mark Driscoll coming to Brighton thing. He thought I was writing more on "Spirit of God!" and obviously hadn't checked "Life on Wings". Initially I slipped, oh so quickly, into legalism and condemnation. The devil had a hey-day. "Oh well - about the only thing you do for God is blog and clearly your closest friends don't think you do much of that!". I had a much needed and valued chat with my best friend Pete Day who made a classic quote to combat this ridiculous legalism;

"There is no law of blogging, no righteousness of gold dust. I would rather seek the glory and if the gold comes then that is a bonus".

The reference to the "gold" was that I was also struggling with why so many people who went to Hong Kong seem to be having manifestations of feathers and gold dust and oil on their hands yet I have got nothing. So as you can see - it was a very helpful comment that freed me wonderfully!

However ...

We did agree that some order was required to make some sense out of what on earth was going on in my blogging little world. Jesse Phillips from Orlando Florida (an SGM pastoral intern) probably did the most admirable job of summing what's where. Here's my attempt:

"Life on Wings" - the original blog and father of them all - set up 3 years ago now just after I left SGM in Bristol. I dedicated it to the memory of Dr Ern Baxter. It is still probably the blog where I do most of my writing as well as housing my archive of Ern Baxter's teaching. However I found that I was writing more and more about the Holy Spirit, His Person and His ministry and trying to defend charismatic life.

So "Spirit of God!" was born. I now partner it with Pete Day and it is evolving into becoming a site for recording the prophetic - prophecies given to us and from us for the church. The longest post on the site is probably "Charismatic Resurgence" - a post that is long overdue for an update. It is our continued hope that more and more charismatics will break the traditional trend and begin to write and document what the Holy Spirit is doing in our age.

I was inspired by a "quotes" blog that Mark Heath (an old friend of mine) set up to launch an exclusive Charismatic/Pentecostal quotes blog. I am blessed to be joined on the blog by an excellent team of people who all share my hunger for more of the Holy Spirit and the Presence and glory of God. Jesse is one of them as are Julie Morris (a real fire-brand), Pete and of course my loyal Scott (my Caleb!).

And then Rob Rufus entered my life in July 2006 at "Together on a Mission 2006" and again in 2007. What a man! I haven't encountered a man of God since Ern Baxter himself who so brings together the Word of God and the power of the Spirit. I fast began finding that taking notes of his sermons was out-growing any blog I was using so he required his own. Here (I still can't believe anyone else had taken the domain name!).

"Rob Rufus - Grace and Glory!".

So where does that leave us? Well I am still attempting to post blogs as the Spirit inspires them on the appropriate blog posts. A couple of times I have transcribed a sermon or two and felt they are too key to be limited to just one blog. My fear is that someone will miss it so I have posted them on two. An example is Rob Rufus's first sermon of 2008. But if a friend like Don is missing some posts, then something needed to be done.

So what Pete and I have agreed is to set up a box at the side of each blog (thanks to Google Reader) under the name "Grace and Glory!". I did call it "Network" but Pete and I don't like the word "Network" for various reasons. Rather than tracking my favourite blogs (because why should you care what I read?!) - the idea is to follow the blogs of those of us who have been hugely blessed by Rob Rufus's ministry and which really seek to marry Word and Spirit - Doctrine and Experience - Grace and Glory.

I hope it proves a useful tool. If you feel your blog deserves a place in it, then please do let me know! I would be delighted to add it and follow what you have to share. I love the blogging world. It truly is a place of "No Well Worn Paths". I think our fore-fathers are looking down and applauding us and probably can't quite believe hopefully what it is achieving in making a statement for the glory of God on the internet.

A Rob Rufus Blog!!

I just wanted to draw attention to a new blog that I've started last night (hopefully with my friend Julie and Don) which is working to spread the teaching and wonderful revelations of Rob Rufus! It's called;

Rob Rufus - Grace and Glory!!

I have started typing up more and more of his sermons and felt that the "Spirit of God!" blog wasn't really the place for it. I am going to start just using it as a public forum to post my notes from his wonderful sermons that I listen to but obviously add other "Rob-related" material as appropriate. Now I have been accused before of exalting servants of God to stations that they do not want and don't deserve. Indeed Rob himself said;

"I am tired of Christian celebrities and conferences that announce the coming of a guru. God is bringing a seaon where He is using the little people of the Kingdom who don't know what they are doing and have no self-confidence".

So it's not my intention at all to exalt a man. But I wrote in my post; "3 Encounters" that Rob has exposed me to more basic grace-teaching and mind-blowing concepts such as God loves me ... without a hint of anger or frustration but doesn't remain there and goes on to teach how we can go on into the throne room of heaven secure in the glory of that. I am passionately convinced that these truths need as broad and as wide exposure as possible and hopefully this blog will go towards accomplishing that.

Rob said this in a recent sermon;

"If this message could get into the 1 billion people who say they are Christians then the Church would be a different place. There would be automatic inner healing and stability in the Body of Christ and it should come from the pulpit, not a thousand courses out there".

If this blog gets this message into places where perhaps it hasn't got before and maybe to people who haven't heard of Rob Rufus and ask; "Who IS this Rob Rufus?" - then it's a job well done!