Thoughts from Romans 4

It is so humbling and awesome to re-visit the truths of the gospel. I'm absolutely ashamed but not afraid to admit I know so little - indeed have hardly scratched the surface of the gospel! And actually after the last few days listening to Rob Rufus preach on grace - have wondered what I was actually saved to! I'm transcribing a message Rob preached at a conference in East London in South Africa where he used Romans 3 and 4 as a text.

So my Bible is sitting open on the desk (as I like to follow along when he reads) and these verses just caught my eye this morning.

Romans 4:4-5; "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favour but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly - his faith is credited as righteousness".

Wow!

"To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly - his faith is credited as righteousness". So we want to be righteous before God? There is no mention of work - indeed it actually says; "To the one who does NOT work". What do we do then?

We believe in Him who justifies the ungodly. Most Christians believe the gospel of grace - but we still persist in trying to add "just a little Law" in so that we contribute something to our standing before God. It just goes against our whole nature to stand back and accept we have nothing and He has everything! But the wonderful C H Spurgeon wrote about the Law;

"Unless you and I keep the law of God perfectly, it matters little how near we get to perfection. It is as though God had committed to our trust a perfect crystal vase, and had said, "If you keep that whole, and present it to me, you shall have a reward." But we have cracked it, chipped it; ah! my brethren, the most of us have broken it and smashed it to pieces. But we will suppose that we have only cracked it a little. Yes, but even then we have lost the reward, for the condition was that it should be perfectly whole, and the slightest chip is a violation of the condition upon which the reward would have been given".

So the one who simply believes - his faith is credited as righteousness. The one who spends his time in effort and in "spiritual disciplines" trying and trying to add righteous deeds to the gospel - he is under a curse because; "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them". You break one law? You've broken them all. You had a moment of pride? You have committed adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, murder.

So much easier to just accept the gospel isn't it!? I'm learning so much about the Law and it's proper place and will probably blog more - it's just incredible how I feel like I'm going back to school!

The Dilemma of Prevailing Prayer

To most Christians the issue of "prayer" can range from extremes - one extreme is an awesome blessing made possible by the Cross of Christ and the glory of the Gospel. The other extreme is possibly one that not many Christians will admit to and that is a massive source of legalistic guilt and shame because many feel they are not measuring up to "standards" (mainly extra-biblical standards set by other Christians).

I've had a few thoughts brewing for a while now and wanted to express them. I have prayed in varying degrees and measures as long as I can remember as a Christian. My earliest recollection of prayer was when I was about 12 (around 1990) and I was on a paper round praying for revival in Dunstable - my home town. I have my pastor Dr Stanley Jebb to thank for that - a passion for revival was inbred in us from an early age. As yet - that prayer hasn't been answered.

I've prayed for the conversion of one of my best friends - Scott. That's been answered gloriously at the "Together on a Mission Conference" in Brighton in 2005! He was definitely and wonderfully touched by God and then again in 2006 under Rob Rufus's amazing ministry during one of his seminars. So there's one of the most wonderful prayers answered - a soul saved!

But conversely again - I endured the most hideous experience of my life working at Acorns Children's Hospice in Birmingham where I felt bullied by the management and staff. It was quite upsetting to hear on a local radio station an advert for Acorns stating, "Acorns is a wonderful place to be". NOT my personal experience! Working there pushed me possibly the closest to suicide I have ever been. I was persuaded to take a grievance out against Acorns which was then promptly dismissed - half accepting that the management "could" have reacted to my concerns faster. My point being - I prayed constantly throughout the 13 months I was there for God to intervene and to turn the situation around. He didn't.

Then take the experience with Sovereign Grace Ministries here in the UK! Again an awful experience for a time and one that very nearly led to me cutting my family off and departing to begin a new life without them. I struggled so much with the fact that my family appeared to stand with the church leaders against me. The night before the meeting I had recently with the Sovereign Grace pastors Pete Day and I prayed together and we admitted before God we didn't have the faith to pray for a glorious miracle - a reconciliation. We went with no faith whatsoever. And yet God intervened - and wonderfully reconciled us all! And I am now welcome back in Bristol at my parent's church!

So my dilemma;

1. Revival - God hasn't answered - yet.

2. Scott's conversion - God answered!

3. My experience at Acorn's Children's Hospice - God didn't answer (or said "No").

4. My experience with SGM Bristol - I didn't pray and yet God answered wonderfully!

It doesn't seem logical does it? Calvinists (even though I am one-ish) tend to retire behind the "sovereignty of God" and put it all down to Him. If God answered - He wanted to. If He didn't - He didn't. Frankly that seems like a cop-out to me and actually seems contrary to the Word of God. Let's consider these verses on prayer;

1. Obviously prayer is instructed in the New Testament: Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17

2. But it cannot be denied that prayer is the God-given means to obtain what God has to freely give: Matthew 7:7-11; Matthew 9:24-29; Luke 11:13.

3. The Bible allows for the fact that prayer is often motivated by need: James 5:13. And one of my favourite verses on prayer: Matthew 7:11: "Jesus says, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him."

4. Above all and the Puritans would argue - most importantly - prayer is communion with God. This (I think) is the key to understanding prayer. Jesus spent hours in prayer - and how ridiculous to even imagine this was anything but pure joy to Him. He spent hours in prayer because He loved His Father above all. I must admit I found myself imagining what those hours in prayer between the Son of God and the Father were like. Was it even CLOSE to my prayer times - me talking and silence from heaven (it seems)? It can't be so! I imagine a loving conversation between Father and Son. One speaking - one listening - and vice versa.

There is no one I more enjoying turning to for advice than C H Spurgeon on prayer. I think Spurgeon describes the experience of many Christians so well;

"We spend the time allotted, but we rise from our knees unrefreshed, like a man who has lain upon his bed but has not slept so as to really recover his strength. When the time comes round again conscience drives us to our knees, but there is not sweet fellowship with God. There is no telling out of our wants to him in the firm conviction that he will supply them. After having gone again through a certain round of customary utterances, we rise from our knees perhaps more troubled in conscience and more distressed in mind than we were before. There are many Christians, I think, who have to complain of this".

Spurgeon suggests positively;

A. There should be a specific object of desire for prayer.

"My brethren, we often ramble in our prayers after this, that, and the other, and we get nothing because in each we do not really desire anything. We chatter about many subjects, but the soul does not concentrate itself upon any one object ... Did we ask an audience at Her Majesty's court, we should be expected to reply to the question, "What do you wish to see her for?" We should not be expected to go into the presence of Royalty, and then to think of some petition after we came there. Even so with the child of God. He should be able to answer the great question, "What is thy petition and what is thy request, and it shall be done unto thee?".

Rambling - oh how often have I heard rambling at prayer meetings! Some Christians seem to be blessed with the gift of praying long, laborious and often pointless prayers.

B. There must be perspective in our prayers.

Spurgeon urges us to "Look above";

"Once more look up and rejoice. Though you have sinned against him he loves you still. Ye have not prayed unto him nor sought his face, but behold he cries to you still—"Seek ye my face;" and he saith not "Seek ye me in vain." Ye may not have gone to the fountain, but it flows as freely as before. Ye have not drawn near to God, but he waiteth to be gracious still, and is ready to hear all your petitions".

I think that we have to admit a glorious mystery in prayer. I suspect (and I could be wrong) that God delighted to answer the un-spoken prayer of Pete and mine with the SGM situation because it brought glory to Him. I don't know why He didn't answer the Acorns situation or the revival cry from so many thousands. Maybe He yet will. All this speaks to remind me that He is God and cannot be tied down. But the key thing - communion. He invites us to pray to get to know Him because when we speak to Him - He speaks back. Conversation is two-way!

I share this - simply to say that I walk on in the challenge of prayer seeking to know Him better!

The Best Wine is STILL to Come!!

I'm having a pretty rough time at the moment still believing in the church. I had a few rough emails today that I won't go into right now. But once again I found myself wondering why it seems to me that the world accept and welcome and appreciate and value - but the church seems to disprove, doubt and discourage whereever possible. So how do we react to a feeling like that? I suppose I could wallow in my frustration and disappointment but how would that value the waiting nations who need to hear the gospel?

My take tonight is to remind myself of the glorious church - to re-state the vision! It's something I've done now and again on this blog. And I am so, so grateful to God for heroes of the faith who state it far better than I and who see it far clearer than I. Tonight - C H Spurgeon is my companion, my encouragement, my guide.

1. Preaching a sermon called; "The Feast of the Lord" at New Park Street on November 28th 1858, Spurgeon said;

"There is better wine to come. We are in our privileges superior to patriarchs, and kings, and prophets. God has given us a brighter and a clearer day than they had; theirs was but the twilight of the morning, compared with the noon-day which we enjoy. But think not that we are come to the best wine yet. There are more noble banquets for God's church; and who knoweth how long, ere the best of the precious wine shall be broached? Know ye not that the King of Heaven is coming again upon this earth?".

"Again, he will not give us the best wine first, because that is not his good pleasure ... Again; your Father doth not give you the good wine now, because he is giving you an appetite for it ... Again, the Lord hath this also in view. He is making you fit for the best wine, that he may be glorified by the trial of your faith".

I love Spurgeon's closing remark;

"I have never seen heaven anywhere but close to Calvary. When I have seen my Saviour crucified, then I have seen him glorified; when I have read my name written in his blood, then I have seen afterwards my mansion which he has prepared for me. When I have seen my sins washed away, then I have seen the white robe that I am to wear for ever. Live near to the Saviour, man, and you shall not be very far off heaven. Recollect, after all, it is not far to heaven. It is only one gentle sigh, and we are there. We talk of it as a land very far off, but close it is, and who knows but that the spirits of the just are here to-night? Heaven is close to us; we cannot tell where it is, but this we know, that it is not a far off land. It is so near, that, swifter than thought, we shall be there, emancipated from our care and woe, and blessed for ever".

2. An aspect of the glorious church is vitally and essentially a MILITANT church - preaching a sermon called; "The Vanguard and Rereward of the Church" on December 28th 1858, Spurgeon said;

"Yet nevertheless, the church on earth has, and until the second advent must be, the church militant, the church armed, the church warring, the church conquering".

The reason for our triumphant confidence? Spurgeon says;

"Christ has gone before us, he has done something in that going before, for he has conquered every foe that lies in his way. Cheer up now thou faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ travelled the road, but he has slain thine enemies. Dost thou dread sin? he has nailed it to his cross. Dost thou dread death? he has been the death of Death. Art thou afraid of hell? he has barred it against the advent of any of his children; they shall never see the gulf of perdition. Whatever foes may be before the Christian, they are all overcome".

How can we NOT be confident?! Christ has gone before us! The sin that some religious Pharisees may seek to accuse us of has already been gloriously nailed to the Cross!

3. Spurgeon continues the militant glorious theme in his sermon; "Storming the Battlements" preached on September 16th 1855;

But he brings a note of warning first;

"God's church is very fond of building walls which her God has not sanctioned. She is not content to trust in the arm of God, but she will add thereto some extraneous help which God utterly abhors. "Beautiful for situation—the joy of the whole earth—is Mount Zion, upon the sides of the north, the city of the great king. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, even so is God round about his people, from henceforth, for evermore." But his people are not content with God's being round about them, they seek some other protection".

That leaves me feeling encouraged and driven. This is something worth fighting for. The demonic counterfeit - that which pretends to be "grace" but is in fact legalism designed to control and manipulate is worth resisting and is worth fighting. Because the reality is glorious! The reality is wonderful! The reality will sweep the nations and will see thousands come to faith and trust in the Wonderful Saviour who gave His life in love to see many sons come to glory!

Why Stand Ye Gazing?

This post is very interesting - it occured to me over Christmas. Then last night at work I had a few quiet moments so I got to reading C J Mahaney's blog which he writes standing in the very stead of God although from the cheap seats. Quite how God can speak from the cheap seats ... I don't know. Maybe it's a sports thing I don't get! Mahaney had a take on Christmas that I guess would tie in with his theology of the Cross. He writes;

"The purpose of his birth was his death. Or to put it more personally: Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner. The incarnation reminds us of our desperate condition before a holy God".

And then again;

"Properly understood, the message of Christmas confronts before it comforts, it disturbs before it delights".

This is nothing new - when I was a member of Sovereign Grace Ministries church I got progressively disturbed about the seeming obsession with the Cross (as opposed to the Christ). Sure it sounded plaudible at first. But is it? Is a "gazing" at the Cross - the object on which Jesus Christ died - the right place to fix our focus? Did Jesus really only go through the Incarnation and 33 years purely to die? Or have we stopped short?

I was doing some research on the place of the Cross in the entire Gospel picture and found an amazing sermon by C H Spurgeon (someone Mahaney calls his 'historical hero'). Spurgeon was preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1884 on Acts 1:10, 11 - the disciples were standing watching Jesus go up into heaven at the great ascension and when the clouds hid Him from them. Two angels appeared and in great Biblical irony, two angels appeared in white and said to them;

"Why stand ye gazing?".

I could think of a few answers to that. "Why?! Er .. we've just seen our Master levitate ...". But moving on. Spurgeon took Acts 1:10 and 11 as his text and said the following comments;

"Four great events shine out brightly in our Saviour's story. All Christian minds delight to dwell upon his birth, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension. These make four rounds in that ladder of light, the foot of which is upon the earth, but the top whereof reacheth to heaven. We could not afford to dispense with any one of those four events, nor would it be profitable for us to forget, or to under-estimate the value of any one of them".

I think Spurgeon sums up excellently my problem. I DO NOT have an issue with thinking about the Cross at Calvary. Growing up in a reformed charismatic church, we duly celebrated Easter and had services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I didn't really enjoy Good Friday - I always found it quite depressing and sad, but loved Easter Sunday and the thought of Jesus Christ rising gloriously from the dead. I watched "The Passion of the Christ" and found it incredibly painful to watch - but got goosebumps in the final scene when the face of Christ appeared and He stepped forth risen.

My question is - why have two wooden planks been singled out for sole focus of our gaze? Before we get into that - let Spurgeon continue having his say. He made a comment during his sermon about what both the Cross and Christ's death - and the resurrection and Christ's triumph bring us;

"That Jesus once suffered unto the death for our sins, and thereby made a full atonement for us, is the rest and life of our spirits. The manger and the cross together are divine seals of love. That the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead is the warrant of our justification, and also a transcendently delightful assurance of the resurrection of all his people, and of their eternal life in him ... The resurrection of Christ is the morning star of our future glory".

I love that so much. His birth and the Cross are divine seals of love. John Hosier once prayed when we were at CCK; "Love constrained the Son of God to go to Calvary". But the resurrection - the glorious resurrection - where He conquered death is the "warrant of our justification". Without Him rising from the dead - "our faith is in vain". Or as Spurgeon so eloquently put it;

"The resurrection of Christ is the morning star of our future glory".

So we may argue this is just semantics. The fact is Christ isn't in a manager, He isn't hanging bleeding and dying on a Cross - He is risen, ascended and glorified in heaven preparing a place for us and interceding for us at the right hand of the Father! But surely it does matter how we imagine the Lord Jesus Christ - because where we fix our vision will affect our faith and how we live our lives.

After all - why else would the angels appear to move the disciples on from where they stood gazing? If I was one of the disciples I would have built a church right there on the Mount as the place where Jesus Christ was last seen. Maybe framed the plot of land where His feet had last been before they lifted off! But no - the angels appeared and told them to move along. Why? Spurgeon explains;

"The truth is, there was nothing wrong in their looking up into heaven; but they went a little further than looking; they stood "gazing." A little excess in right may be faulty. It may be wise to look, but foolish to gaze. There is a gazing which is not commendable, when the look becomes not that of reverent worship, but of an overweening curiosity; when there mingles with the desire to know what should be known, a prying into that which it is for God's glory to conceal.

We had better abstain from acts which serve no practical purpose; for in this life we have neither time nor strength to waste in fruitless action. The disciples would be wise to cease gazing, for nobody would be benefitted by it, and they would not themselves be blessed. What is the use of gazing when there is nothing to see?".

And there is my point. Can it be possible to gaze a little too much at the empty Cross where Christ died? While in Sovereign Grace Ministries I heard frequently; "We will never move on from the Cross" and other similar semantic statements. But something occured to me only today - is it necessary to look at the Cross to remember His sacrificial death for us? I don't believe it is. Revelation 5:6 shows us a divine vision;

"And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain".

It just isn't necessary to gaze at the Cross to remember the sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ. I don't exactly know what "as if slain" means - because I can't pretend to have seen the risen Christ in a vision. But I suspect He appears with maybe wounds in His hands and feet that are unhealed even in His glorious state. Whatever it may be - gazing at Him in His risen, ascended and glorious state does not mean that we are "moving on from the Cross".

I think C H Spurgeon sums up the issue perfectly for me;

"Again, put another question,—What precept were they obeying when they stood gazing up into heaven? If you have a command from God to do a certain thing, you need not inquire into the reason of the command, it is disobedient to begin to canvas God's will; but when there is no precept whatever, why persevere in an act which evidently does not promise to bring any blessing? Who bade them stand gazing up into heaven? For He had strictly charged them that they should tarry at Jerusalem till they were "endued with power from on high." So what they did was not justifiable".

So ... the question then is, is there anything particular about Calvary's Cross that demands our earnest gazing? Of course Paul said; "We preach Christ crucified". I know that. But Paul did not say; "We preach the crucifiction". He said; "We preach CHRIST ... crucified". The emphasis being (I believe) on why drove Christ to go through what He did for "the joy set before Him".

So there we have my thoughts - I am not saying that we should not fix our gaze on the events of Calvary and what Christ went through. Rather I think we should confess we will NEVER know the true horrors of Calvary - the agony of being seperated from His Father. But I propose that our gaze should be upon the full events of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection. As Spurgeon put it;

"Four great events shine out brightly in our Saviour's story. All Christian minds delight to dwell upon his birth, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension".

One of my favourite choruses back in the 1980's as I grew up (and still is) remains this;

"For we see Jesus enthroned on high
Clothed in His righteousness, we worship Him
Glory and honour we give unto You
We see You in Your holiness
And bow before Your throne
You are the Lord
Your name endures forever
Jesus the Name high over all".

A Respected Intolerance

I had two posts in mind stemming from today - one is about fathers. I find it difficult - to be frank - relating to God as my Father. I don't quite know why that is. Maybe it's partly because I found it difficult to get on with my earthly dad. We are very different people emotionally. He is a man's man. I am an emotionally unstable soul - up or down but never in-between. I thank God that I have a measure of friendship with him now but childhood and teenage years were not easy. So does that disqualify me from ever enjoying God as heavenly perfect Father? Of course not - no earthly father is perfect. The key is to realise that any poor or bad relationships don't set the model for God - we have to be prepared to learn again and learn from new.

So I turned to the Song of Solomon today! I did so deliberately and without really much thought. It just seemed natural to me that if I wanted to learn what God is like as a heavenly Father. I'm in good company - C H Spurgeon's solid gold sermons on the Song of Solomon (gathered together masterfully in; "The Most Holy Place"). Who better than Spurgeon to teach about this book?!

However I was distracted by C H Spurgeon's rather "un-P.C" discussion of those who would hold views of the Song of Solomon that he would not agree with. I like that fresh approach! In this day and age I notice that the Christian church has become affected by the community. Disagreeing with someone isn't acceptable and it doesn't go down well. One of the things I liked about Spurgeon and the Puritans was that they were not afraid to state boldly their views and disagree carefully and thoughtfully where they felt someone was wrong.

So here is C H Spurgeon's statements on the Song of Solomon and those he would not agree with. He starts the sermon by discussing the view that men such as Mark Driscoll and C J Mahaney would hold - namely that the book discusses Solomon's marriage to Pharoh's daughter (as is thought). Spurgeon states;

"Now as I am sure as I am of my own existance, that this is one of the grossest mistakes (the Driscoll/Mahaney view) that was ever committed ... If you look all through the song you will find that this is so; in the very beginning she is compared to a shepherdess. Now all shepherds are abominations to the Egyptians; do you think therefore that Solomon would compare an Egyptian princess to the very thing which she abominated? In one place Solomon compares her to a company of horses in Pharoh's chariot. Now horses were among the Israelites, common things; and what would Pharoh's daughter have said if Solomon compared her to a company of horses?".

So there are a couple of excellent Spurgeon rebuttals to obvious glaring problems in "humanising" the Song of Solomon. It just doesn't quite make sense. Spurgeon then goes on;

"The fact is that this book is a puzzle to many men for the simple reason it was not written for them at all. Learned men and wise men find this a stone which they are broken to powder just because it was not written for them. Men who are disposed to laugh at Scripture find here an opportunity to exercise their profane wit, just because the book is not written for them".

One cannot help but think of Mark Driscoll's "jokes" about the Song of Solomon.

"The true believer who has lived near to his Master will find this book to be a mass, not of gold merely, for all God's Word is this, but a mass of diamonds sparkling with brightness ... If I must prefer one book above another, I would prefer some books of the Bible for doctrine, some for experience, some for example, but let me prefer this book above all others for fellowship and communion. When the Christian is nearest to heaven, this is the book he takes with him.

There are times when he would leave even the Psalms behind, when standing on the borders of Canaan, when he is in the land of Beulah and he is just crossing the stream, and can almost see his Beloved through the rifts of the storm-cloud, then it is he can begin to sing Solomon's song. This is about the only book he can sing in heaven".

I state all this again not to take one jot away from Driscoll or Mahaney's ministries. I know many people receive much from them. But for me - I feel more comfortable taking a hallowed approach to the Song of Solomon - it isn't funny. And it shouldn't have jokes made about it. I come to this book as a hungry learner - desperate to learn how a son should relate to his Father.

On Reading C H Spurgeon and Sermons ...

I'm not a very patient Christian bookshopper. Many go into a Wesley Owen or a CLC and browse happily and slowly. I rush in like a whirlwind and sweep the shelves and usually leave without buying anything. I don't have much patience for the majority of Christian books - to me they tend to be either rubbishy Christian novels or dry, dead theology (a misnomer surely). I lament spending lunch hour after lunch hour scanning the shelves and leaving empty-handed.

I think that partly explains why I invest so much time in transcribing sermons. My thought is that there is no point in moaning about a lack of quality Christian books if you don't write your own.

But that's an aside. I was thrilled last week to find a treasure in CLC which I duly brought. Day One Publications have brought out a volume; "C H Spurgeon's Sermons Beyond Volume 63". I'm an avid collector of the "Metropolitan Tabernacle" volumes and have about 20 or so to go. This volume has produced 45 "forgotten" sermons that have been transcribed and edited. Phil Johnson wrote the foreword and made a valuable point;

"Years ago a student just entering seminary visited my office and noticed that two large shelves behind my desk are filled with the New Park Street Pulpit and Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit collections, which he had never seen in their entirety. He was fascinated by the set. Thumbing through a random volume, he observed out loud what almost everyone nowadays would notice first of all; by today's standards the books are very thick, the type quite small and the paragraphs surprisingly long.

The student looked up from the book he was holding and asked whether I had read every sermon in all sixty three volumes. I told him I had not (and still haven't) and that reading Spurgeon is a pleasure I expect to savour with care and patience, sermon by sermon for the rest of my life ... I explained that I don't read Spurgeon chronologically. I select sermons to read based on whatever passage of Scripture I am studying at any given time. I wouldn't think of preaching on a passage until I have seen what Spurgeon had to say about it ... He almost never fails to shine a bright light into some dark corner of the text showing me things I would not have seen otherwise".

I know that not everyone is a Spurgeon fan but a few thoughts occured to me;

1. In the Christian book saturated market - have we abandoned the use of "books of sermons"?

2. If you are a pastor/teacher/preacher - have you considered how your ministry will outlive you? It's unlikely that CD's or sermon tapes will do. Do not hide behind the facade of "humility". God gave you a gift for a purpose - do you really believe that only your generation is meant to be exposed to your gift? If you are not then you are robbing future generations. Are you writing? Are you commissioning some to transcribe your sermons?

3. We all know the "classic" books of sermons. C H Spurgeon of course being one of them. John Calvin is another. James Montgomery Boice is a more modern classic. But what about the gifted and modern preachers of today that God is using? Greg Haslam listed his favourite preachers in a recent interview;

"But I regularly try to hear sermons by A W Tozer (a true prophet for today, who died in 1963), Tim Keller (a church-planter in New York, and evangelistic pastor-teacher par excellence), Mark Driscoll (a modern-day Spurgeon!), Terry Virgo, David Pawson (prophetic teachers), past greats like Lloyd-Jones, Eric Alexander and John Stott (great expositors), as well as some people you may not have heard of like Rick Godwin and Ern Baxter".

Ern Baxter for example does not have much in print of his sermons - that is exactly the reason why I try to transcribe the sermons of his that I have. Just the same for Rob and Ryan Rufus.

Let's not forget sermons! They can accomplish much in opening to us the gospel of glory and grace!

A Spurgeon Sermon on the Song of Solomon

Many know by now that the Song of Solomon is become an "issue" to me. The modern teaching popularised by Mark Driscoll or C J Mahaney has bothered me, and I've made no secret of that. But I was challenged recently that it's no good being "anti" everything without examining what I DO believe. So I am writing my own commentary of sorts on the Song of Songs - and reading everything I can lay my hands on.

C H Spurgeon preached a great number of amazing sermons on the Song of Solomon but this one in particular caught my eye. It wasn't just the way he touched on this wonderful book but it was his teaching on the Presence and glory of God that thrilled me. C H Spurgeon is popular among evangelicals - mainly for his gospel-centred preaching. Maybe this one was overlooked.

Sermon: "The Real Presence, the Great Want of the Church".

Text: Song of Solomon 3:4-5 -

"It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please."

Brethren, if a church be without the Spirit of God in it, it may have a name to live, but it is dead, and, you know, that after death there follows corruption, corruption which breeds foulness and disease. Hence, those churches which have turned aside unto error, have not only lost all power to do good, but they have become obnoxious and the causes of great evil in the midst of the world.

Let the Spirit of God be in the church, then there is power given to all her ministries; whether they be ministries of public testimony in the preaching of the word, or ministries of holy love amongst the brethren, or ministries of individual earnestness to the outside world, they will all be clothed with energy, in the fullness of the power of the Lord Jesus. Then her ordinances become truly profitable, then baptism is burial with the Lord, and the sacred supper is a feast of love; then the communion of the brethren in their solemn prayer and praise becomes deep and joyful, and their whole life and walk are bright with the glow of heaven.

In the presence of the Lord the graces of the saints are developed; the church grows rich in all spiritual gifts; her warfare becomes victorious, and her continual worship sweet as the incense of the golden censor.

I. And first, we learn from the text that before ever we can bring the Well-Beloved into our mother's house, the church, WE MUST FIND HIM PERSONALLY FOR OURSELVES.

I am not now about to speak of the need of conversion; we all know that no spiritual act can be performed until we become spiritual men; but I am now speaking about something higher than bare conversion. If we would bless the church, we must ourselves occupy a higher platform than that of being merely saved; we must be believers, walking in fellowship with Christ, and having, in that respect, found him whom our soul loveth.

There are many believers who have only just enough grace to enable us to hope that they are alive; they have no strength with which to work for God's cause, they have not an arm to lend to the help of others, neither can they even see that which would comfort others, for they are blind, and cannot see afar off, they want all their sight, and all their strength, for themselves. Those who are to bring the Well-Beloved into our mother's house, must be of another kind. They must get beyond the feebleness which is full of doubting and fearing, into the assurance which grasps the Savior, and the fellowship which lives in daily communion with him.

Pray ye for Laodicea in her lukewarmness, and Sardis in her spiritual death; but you will only prevail in proportion as your inmost soul loves the Redeemer and abides in his love.

In seeking our Lord we must use all ministries. The spouse enquired of the watchmen. We are not to despise God's servants, for he is usually pleased to bless us through them, and it would be ungrateful both to him and to them to pass them by as useless.

But, while we use the ministries, we must go beyond them. The spouse did not find her Lord through the watchmen.

But she says, "it was but a little that I passed from them, that I found him whom my soul loveth." I charge you, my dear hearers, never rest content with listening to me. Do not imagine that hearing the truth preached simply and earnestly will of itself be a blessing to your souls. Far, far beyond the servant, pass to the Master.

Oh, for more Enochs, men who walk with God, whose habitual spirit is that of close communion with Jesus, meditating upon him, yea, more than that, sympathizing with him, drinking into his spirit, changed into his likeness, living over again his life, because he is in them the monarch of their souls. O that we had a chosen band of elect spirits of this race, for surely the whole church would be revived through their influence.

II. This brings us to the second point of the subject. If we would be a blessing to the church, and have already found Christ, WE MUST TAKE CARE TO RETAIN HIM.

To come to Christ, and to sit down at his feet, is a simple thing enough for believers, and many of us have attained to it; but to sit day after day at the Master's feet is quite another matter. Oh, could I always be as I sometimes am! Could I not only rise above but remain there! But, alas, our spiritual nature is too much like this weather—it is balmy to-day; one would think that spring or summer had come; but, perhaps, to-night we may be chilled with frost and tomorrow drenched with rain. Ah, how fickle are our spirits. We are walking with Christ, rejoicing, leaping for joy; and anon the cold frosts of worldliness come over us, and we depart from him.

Mark, that according to the text, it is very apparent that Jesus will go away if he is not held. "I held him and I would not let him go;" as if he would have gone if he had not been firmly retained.

But note, next, he is very willing to be held. Who could hold him if he were not? He is the omnipotent Savior, and if he willed to withdraw he could do so: let us hold him as we might. But, mark his condescension. When his spouse said, "I held him, and I would not let him go," he did not go, he could not go, for his love held him as well as her hands. Christ is willing to be held.

He loves that sacred violence which takes him by force, that holy diligence which leaves not a gap open by which he may escape, but shuts every door, bars every bolt, and saith, "I have thee now and I will take care that if I lose thee it shall be through no fault of mine." Jesus is willing enough to be retained by hearts which are full of his love.

III. It appears from the text that, after the spouse had thus found Christ for herself and held him, SHE BROUGHT HIM INTO THE CHURCH—"I brought him to my mother's house."

IV. This leads me to the last point, which is this, to CHARGE THE CHURCH THAT SHE BE CAREFUL NOT TO DISTURB THE LORD'S REPOSE, if we have been enabled by divine grace to bring the Lord into the chambers of our mother's house.

May you stand as a sparkling pile of precious gems, inhabited by the eternal Spirit, to the praise and the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Amen.

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!

I'm FREE!!

Sometimes it's the simplest of songs that come as an awesome encouragement when times are dark. Things have all gone weird again at work which is rather upsetting. I'm trying to navigate walking the path of faith and needing help, advice and support from my G.P and other sources. It was quite a comfort reading something of C H Spurgeon's wrestling with depression (from The Christian's Heaviness and Rejoicing NPSP Vol 4, Year 1858, pg. 459, 1 Peter 1:6);

"I was lying upon my couch during this last week, and my spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for — but a very slight thing will move me to tears just now — and a kind friend was telling me of some poor old soul living near, who was suffering very great pain, and yet she was full of joy and rejoicing. I was so distressed by the hearing of that story, and felt so ashamed of myself, that I did not know what to do; wondering why I should be in such a state as this; while this poor woman, who had a terrible cancer, and was in the most frightful agony, could nevertheless "rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."

That's exactly how I feel! Working in a hospice with kids who are so needy and yet feeling at times like I could just weep and not know why. Having the blessings of a roof over my head and food to eat (virtually) daily (when I have an appetite) and yet there are millions starving and homeless. Anyhow - this wasn't meant to be a post musing on depression and how to beat it. I wanted to highlight a song that I've heard before done by the amazing Hillsongs guys - but it was freshly renewed to me.

Here's the video;



And here's the lyrics ... I just LOVE them!

"would you believe me if I said....
that we are the ones who can make the change
in the world today....

would you believe me if I said...
that all of the dreams in your heart
can come true....today

would you believe me if I said...
that life could be all that you want it to be...
today..

Chorus:
and if I had wings I would fly'cause all that I need, you are...
and if the world caved in around me...
to you I'd still hold on'cause You're all that I believe...
and the one that created me...
JESUS...

because of you...I'M FREE

Verse 2:
would you believe me if I said...
that God can make miracles happen today....
would you believe me if I said..
that you don't need to wait for the answers before...
you step out in faith...would you believe me if I said...
that nothing is ever impossible...for God...

Bridge:
just live your life...with God inside..
you won't regret one moment of it...
and give all that you can for God, for God".

Effects of Grace and Law!!

Here are 20 bullet points to consider on the effects of grace versus law from Rob Rufus's latest sermon; "Do Christians Need To Confess Their Sins To God?". I am increasingly realising that there is no middle ground here. A useless mixture of preaching Old and New Covenant doesn't work. When I read about a senior Christian leader talking of a weary daily battle for joy and that joy having to come from a "humble" consideration of being; "I am the worst sinner I know" - I am somewhat at a loss to reconcile that with Scripture that speaks of "joy unspeakable and full of glory" and references to joy springing up like a spring of water. The shadow of law rather seems to loom over a statement such as that rather than applaudable "discipline". So it is criticial that we recognise what part law plays and it's limitations as compared to grace.

Even Mahaney's one-time hero C H Spurgeon would see the relationship between the grace of God and abounding joy as being paramount;

"Our dream is not of devils descending a dreary staircase to hell, but of angels ascending and descending upon a ladder, the top of which leads to the shining throne of God. The message of the gospel is one of joy and gladness, and were it universally understood and received this world would be no longer a wilderness, but it would rejoice and blossom as the rose. Let grace reign in all hearts, and this earth will become a temple filled with perpetual song; and even the trials of life will become causes of the highest joy, so beautifully described by James as "all joy," as if every possible delight were crowded into it".

It is just as critical that we fully, 100% embrace the New Covenant in it's entirety and that does NOT include "accountability groups" that spend day after day, week after week examining sins. I asked someone who goes to one such accountability group faithfully this - what sins have you triumphed over since being in that group? The answer wasn't clear and certainly wasn't positive. So here's Rob's list. The stakes couldn't be higher! "It was for FREEDOM that Christ has set us FREE!".

1. The law is only a weak and useless shadow. Grace is the reality of the good things.

2. The law demands perfect righteousness of you and will judge you and send you to hell if you are not perfectly righteous all the time. And you may try to be righteous for a little while but if you do not keep the law one hundred percent then you’ve got to confess your sin. And if you don’t confess your sin before you die, then in between your last confession you could go to hell.

3. The law demands the absolute perfect standard of God’s righteous of you all the time. Grace gives you God’s free gift of his righteousness for you to stand in.

4. Law says do, do, do. Grace says it’s done. It’s done. It’s done, you’re safe.

5. Law makes you conscious of your sin. Grace makes you conscious of you being righteous in Christ Jesus.

6. Law always condemns you. Grace never condemns you.

Grace lifts you into the cloud of his presence. Into the cloud of His glory. I say with integrity, I walk in His Presence every single day his Presence comes on me. Every day. I’m not talking about I sort of think he’s there, I’m talking about tangible, electrical Presence. The Presence of God every day. And it’s because of grace understanding. Not because of trying to keep the law.

7. The law took the disobedience of Adam and condemned us all. Grace took the obedience of Jesus and declared us all to be perfectly righteous in the Father’s eyes.

8. Under law God says I will by no means forget your sins. Under grace God says I will by no means ever remember your sins again. (So ... "I am the worst sinner I know"? God doesn't seem to share the same opinion if the New Covenant is to be believed. How God-glorifying is it to remember something God says He has forgotten ... deliberately?). Past, present and future. Because Jesus didn’t die somewhere in the middle of your life, he died before you were ever born. And he died to cancel all your sins and they’ve all already been forgiven according to what we read in the book of Hebrews. Under grace God says I will never remember your sins.

9. The law is a revelation of how much is wrong with you before God. Grace is a revelation of how perfectly right with God you are. At the cross, Jesus identified with you at your worst so that in Him you can by identified with him at his best.

There is no height into the glory Presence of God you cannot ascend on a daily basis because there was no limit to death and depravity that Jesus refused to descend to on your behalf. The reason why grace brings so much relief to the sole is because grace takes the focus off our unworthiness and puts the focus on Jesus’ worthiness and the glorious fact that we are always permanently in Him.

10. Under law sin abounded but grace has super excessively, more abounded. When your sin and grace meet in the boxing ring, grace triumphs easily every time.

11. The law makes you self conscious, grace makes you Christ conscious.

12. The law makes you ask, “What must I do?” Grace asks what has Jesus done already?

13. Under law, the burden is on you to perform. Under grace, the burden is on what Christ has performed on your behalf already.

14. The law is a heavy burden with a difficult yoke. Grace is a light burden with a yoke that’s easy.

15. The law is a ministry of death. Grace is a ministry of life.

16. The law demands of you. Grace gives to you.

17. The law demands you earn the blessings. Grace has already earned the blessings for you.

18. The law demands you earn the blessings, grace has already earned the blessings for you.

19. The law is dependant on you. Grace is dependant on what Jesus has already done for you.

20. You will always fail the law, but grace will always succeed for you.

"The law justifies no one and condemns even the best of us. Grace justifies, accepts, and approves even the worst of us".

Rob Rufus, Ern Baxter, C H Spurgeon and the Promised Land

I have a great love for the typology of the children of Israel travelling through the wilderness from Egypt to the Promised Land. One of my favourite sermon series of Ern Baxter's was called; "Where Are We Going?" at the Dales Bible Week 1976 and was based on this. I have already transcribed two sermons from the series - "The Land Located and Described" and the "Kadesh Crisis" (I intend to finish this series as soon as possible and have it bound to join the other books I have typed up!). Ern Baxter like C H Spurgeon taught biblically that the land DOES NOT and CANNOT mean heaven - despite the traditional evangelical interpretation by people such as Bluefish. After all - will there really be giants in heaven? C H Spurgeon says in his sermon - "Canaan on Earth";

"It has generally been considered, that the passage of the Jordan by the Israelites is typical of death, and that Canaan is a fitting representation of heaven. We believe that in some sense it is true, and we do fondly cherish the household words of those hymns which describe our passing through Jordan's billows, and landing safe on Canaan's side; but we do think that the allegory does not hold, and that Jordan is not a fair exhibition of death, nor the land of Canaan a fair picture of the sweet land beyond the swelling flood which the Christian gains after death.

For mark you, after the children of Israel had entered into Canaan, they had to fight with their enemies. It was a land filled with foes. Every city they entered they had to take by storm, unless a miracle dismantled it. They were warriors, even in the land of Canaan, fighting for their own inheritance; and though each tribe had its lot marked out, yet they had to conquer the giant Anakim, and encounter terrible hosts of Canaanites. But when we cross the river of death we shall have no foes to fight, no enemies to encounter. Heaven is a place already prepared for us; out of it the evil ones have long ago been driven; there brethren shall await us with pleasing faces, kind hands shall clasp ours, and loving words shall alone be heard. The shout of war shall ne'er be raised by us in heaven; we shall throw our swords away, and the scabbards with them. No battles with warriors there, no plains besoaked with blood, no hills where robbers dwell, no inhabitants with chariots of iron.

It is "a land flowing with milk and honey;" and it dreams not of the foeman of Canaan of old. We think the church has lost the beauty of Scripture, in taking Jordan to mean death, and that a far fuller meaning is the true allegory to be connected with it. Egypt, as we have lately observed to you, was typical of the condition of the children of God while they are in bondage to the law of sin. There they are made to work unceasingly, without wages or profit, but continually subject to pains.

We said, again, that the coming up out of Egypt was the type of the deliverance which every one of God's people enjoys, when by faith he strikes the blood of Jesus on his lintel and his doorpost, and spiritually eats the paschal lamb; and we can also tell you now, that the passage through the wilderness is typical of that state of hoping, and fearing, and doubting, and wavering, and inconstancy, and distrust, which we usually experience between the period when we come out of Egypt, and attain unto the full assurance of faith.

Many of you, my dear hearers, are really come out of Egypt; but you are still wandering about in the wilderness. "We that have believed do enter into rest;" but you, though you have eaten of Jesus, have not so believed on him as to have entered into the Canaan of rest. You are the Lord's people, but you have not come into the Canaan of assured faith, confidence, and hope, where we wrestle no longer with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus—when it is no longer a matter of doubt with us whether we shall be saved, but we feel that we are saved".

Rob Rufus joins the list of my heroes who teach the same allegorical intepretation of the Land. We - the Church - are wandering around in the wilderness I believe! I have been listening to and transcribing Rob's sermon; "Do Our Diaries Reflect The Priorities Of Heaven?" - and Rob said this:

"Why did God hide some of His biggest and richest blessings among the biggest giants in the Promised Land? Because He did not want the casual pursuer of God, the coward, the self-pitying person, the self-centred person, the person of unbelief to have access to His greatest blessings.

So He hides His greatest blessings among the greatest challenges so that the people who are going to receive the blessings of God have to repent of all self-righteousness, all delusions of self-sufficiency, to throw themselves completely onto God and to come into the Presence of God every single day and make a choice that no matter demanding life is and no matter how many pressures come, I will make my calendar a priority that I am going to engage God on a daily basis.".

Amen! Let us head onwards towards the Promised Land!

See ... That You Make Others See!

I'm interupting the reports from "Together on a Mission" to share this very interesting and insightful quote from a book I've been reading. I was quite challenged by my US friend Jesse, who asked the important question whether it is actually worth writing and arguing for our views if there really is no hope of persuading avid Macarthur cessationists. I think we must keep reading and writing. One of my favourite Spurgeon quotes makes that challenge clear;

“Beloved when you and I have seen or heard anything which God has revealed to us, let us go and write it or make it known by some other means … You have not been privileged to see, merely to make glad your eyes and to charm your soul; you have been permitted to see in order that you may make others see”[1].

That is one of the reasons why I love the Puritans so much. They had an experience of God and wrote about it and their writings ooze with Spirit-drenched passion for the Lord. So if we have had any experience of God, any testimony to share then surely we must write! I am passionate about the need for every believer to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. It is our rightful inheritance that guarantees us an experience of sonship. Imagine a world filled with Spirit-baptised believers and churches who knew without a doubt that they are sons of the living God! Imagine a world of churches where doubt and fear has left them that our inheritance is guaranteed!

That is why Jesse's paper on the Baptism of the Spirit is such a vital resource. It's here - free!

So back to the quote. I've been reading "Foundational Truths for Christian Living" by Derek Prince and I felt he had a very insightful take on the issue of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He wrote this;

"We can sum up the differences between the two experiences of receiving the Holy Spirit.

1. On Resurrection Sunday it was:

• Resurrected Christ.


• Inbreathed Holy Spirit.


• Result: Life.

2. On Pentecost Sunday it was:

• Ascended Christ.


• Outpoured Holy Spirit.


• Result: Power".

I felt this was a important distinction that deserves being heard. May many more new believers be baptised in the Holy Spirit of power bringing the wonderful assurance that Jesus Christ is alive and standing before the Father interceding for them!

[1] C H Spurgeon (5th ed, 1995) – C H Spurgeon Autobiography – “The Full Harvest” (Volume 2) - Banner of Truth, Edinburgh – page 142 – emphases mine.

Rob Rufus Prophecies in Session 5!

I would be incredibly interested in how many people actually picked up and digested the prophecy that Rob gave to the conference as it occured very quickly and randomly actually in the middle of his reading of a passage of Scripture. However I have been musing and meditating on it and I do believe that the implications of it are breathtaking! If we truly believe that our mission is as Dave Devenish said it was - then this prophecy surely must be fulfilled!

He said;

"Suicide bombers will be heading to targets when they themselves are hit by the nuclear blast of the glory of God and they will be felled like Paul on the Damascus Road. They will find themselves lovers instead of haters!".

I find that breathtaking. I really do! If we as a church begin abandoning our fatalistic mentality that we have been locked into for too long and begin awakening to the possibility that God has called and equipped His Church for a great mission to take the glorious Gospel to the ends of the earth in the power of His Spirit accompanied by signs and wonders, then maybe we will stop fearing the next calamity to befall our nation and get on our knees. How does a pessimistic society aid our prayer life other than the inevitable "Come Lord Jesus"? There's nothing wrong with that prayer but maybe God is replying, "He will but the heavens are retaining My Son until ...!".

I posted these two quotes of C H Spurgeon on my quotes blog (here and here) recently. Here they are again;

"We look for a day when the dwellers in all lands shall learn righteousness, shall trust in the Saviour, shall worship Thee alone O God and 'shall glorify Thy Name'. The modern nation has greatly dampened the zeal of the church for missions and the sooner it is shown to be unscriptural the better, for the cause of God. It neither consorts with prophecy, honours God nor inspires the church with ardour. Far hence it be driven".

C H Spurgeon - (1885) - Treasure of David Volume 4 - (p102).

"God is about to send times of surprising fertility to His Church ... brethren where we have seen one converted, we may yet see hundreds, where the Word of God has been powerful to scores, it shall be powerful to thousands and where hundreds in past years have seen it, nations shall be converted to Christ ... God the Holy Spirit is not stinted in His power".

C H Spurgeon - (1860) - "A Revival Sermon" - New Park Street Pulpit Volume 6 - (p82).

If I have come away from the Brighton conference with anything - it is with a renewed hope that the great mission that God is embarked on has stepped up a level and I feel so privilidged not only to be able to give financially as Terry Virgo taught us on the offering night, but to even be a part of this great plan. We - once lost - am now found! We - once aimless - have been sent on a mission!

Quoting on a Spirit-Filled Blog

A few days ago I shared some thoughts entitled, "The Ethics of Spirit-Filled Blogging" but I realised that I didn't say much about quoting. Quoting is almost a given in Christian blogging I think. Abraham Piper wrote an extremely helpful post recently called "Tips for Better Blogging" which I read with great interest and he made this point;

"With discretion, link to anything that will support your content. It's good when a link itself gives some idea what you will find at the other end. So, as a rule, it’s most user-friendly to connect links to meaningful words rather than words like “this” or “here.”

I realise that doesn't directly refer to quoting but I think I will be forgiven for seeing the two as closely linked. What interested me however was that phrase, "With discretion". I have come across a blog or two where the entirety of their posts consist of something like this; "This is a great post ...". They then go on to reproduce the entire body of the text of the original blog that they read from. I can't quite understand that and it puts me off that blog. If I want to read the said "great post" then I will follow the link they should have provided and read it for myself on the original blog. What I am interested in is exactly why that person thinks it's such a great post and whether there is anything that person disagrees with and again why.

To me, all that a blog full of quotes shows is that the blogger reads a lot. That's a good thing. But it doesn't show me whether he digests what he reads a lot. That's a bad thing.

I was in a church once where the pastor was in the habit of re-preaching sermons he had heard his heroes preach. And when I say "re-preach" I mean the lot. Even the illustrations and jokes were reproduced. Afterwards I heard a lady go up to him and ask him if she could get the tape of the original sermon. He wasn't particularly pleased but I saw her point. If I was to re-preach an Ern Baxter sermon (and I have done it once at our Full Faith church to my shame. Mark and Steph were very gracious!) it wouldn't be very good. Why? Because I am not Ern Baxter and I don't have the anointing that he had to preach a sermon like he did. The Bible says, "To each has been given". Doesn't that mean we've all got unique giftings and while we can draw on our heroes like Terry Virgo or Ern Baxter or John Piper or Gordon Fee we don't try and "be" them and certainly don't jam our blogs full of them and purely them.

I love the way that C H Spurgeon used to describe quotes. He called them "Smooth Stones from Ancient Brooks". What he meant was that a quote can be like a carefully selected stone by David used to kill Goliath. So we choose our quotes carefully and then comment on why that quote means so much to us. Abraham Piper had a really good point which convicted me;

"After I’m done writing, I go back and pretend I have to pay $100 for every word. Seriously".

Finally I think that we don't necessarily have to always quote Reformed scholars to make our blogs good. As I mentioned recently I have been spending a lot of time reading a selection of Charismatic books from the 1970's and 80's and I don't think Bryn Jones or Gerald Coates would have dreamt of describing themselves as theologians. But their writing remains prophetic and deeply challenging. Therefore here's a few quotes that have really struck me!

"It is my conviction that recognising apostles and prophets and letting them function will yet prove the most important restoration breakthrough of our time" - Arthur Wallis - "The Radical Christian".

"The baptism in the Holy Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit are directly related to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Agreeing that we need to be filled with the Spirit will not disturb anything - but once you are filled, anything and everything but God and His Word will be disturbed. He cannot change the future without disturbing the present" - Gerald Coates - "Divided We Stand?" - Kingsway (p116).

"Worship is like a river - it flows. It is not a stagnant pool but a flowing experience. As you pour your heart into the river of praise and worship, so others are provoked to do the same until, from all together there swells a fragrant song of love to God from the hearts of His people" - Bryn Jones - "Worship - A Heart for God" - Harvestime (p48).

Why do I share those quotes?

Really because they are bothering my heart at the moment. They are deepening my hunger for an increased restoration of these things in God's church. "Letting apostles and prophets function" - what else can explain why I get so excited when I see that Terry Virgo is going to be meeting Tyrone Daniels of NCMI? "Agreeing we need to be filled will not change anything" - doesn't this sound familar to Jesse and my discussion and concern with the term "Continuationism"? And as for the worship quote ... well that's one of the things I am most looking forward to being at "Together on a Mission"! Being led by the wonderful Kate Simmonds and Simon Brading and really and truly experiencing the torrent of the river that is worship there.

So let's carry on quoting! After all C H Spurgeon was adamant - we must read. And if we read, let's quote and share what we've been reading. But as Abraham Piper said, let's do so with discretion and share our hearts. After all these are our blogs designed and written for the glory of God and the extension of His Kingdom!

Write What You See!

Yesterday I spent a happy few hours in a second-hand Christian bookshop near my parents house and I found a pile of charismatic books written around the 1970s-80s that I got for about £1! It has been incredible reading them because while none of them maybe renowned theologians or academics, they were prophetic visionaries writing down what they saw God was doing in the nation and what they felt God was speaking to them. Because those books are still around, we have a record of those remarkable days in the 1970's so we can learn from their mistakes but grow through their desire and passion for God.

On Thursday 19th January 2006, I wrote a short post reflecting on the differing contributions that audiotapes and books have to make to the Christian church. Derek Prince's biographer noted that; "The Charismatic Movement grew on the power of recorded speech" and went on to suggest that the cassette tape actually defined charismatic culture. However I felt that while audiotapes have a great blessing in that they are affordable and accessible - they can be easily forgotten, easily lost and easily destroyed. Books on the other hand are a different matter. C H Spurgeon had a great deal to say about books and their vitality to the church.

"Some of our very ultra-Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon, must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot, and talks any quantity of nonsense, is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men's brains — oh! that is the preacher.

How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, "GIVE THYSELF UNTO READING."

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".

Why do I repeat this? I am so excited about the charismatic resurgence of blogging - because I don't think ever before in the whole of church or human history has so many people been writing! Tim Challies made what could be a prophetic statement although he wouldn't call it that. He said;

"It may be worth pausing here for just a moment to ask "Why do people blog?" ... We all want to be part of what is unfolding and this is particularly true as we see power begin to shift from the few to the many. We do not want to be left behind. This is as true in theology as it is in politics ... By way of example, just in the past few months we've seen John MacArthur and John Piper begin to blog. They know that this is how information moves and they see the importance of being part of it".

Can it be true that the church truly is moving away from the clergy/laity divide so that while we still deeply appreciate the gifts of the ascended Christ and look to them, we as a general Church are beginning to write more and document more what we are seeing that God is doing?

Let me quote as an example some awesome statements that Gerald Coates wrote in his book; "Divided We Stand?" on the subject of apostles today.

"'That they may be one' will always on the heart of an apostle who cares for what God cares about".

"The apostle would attract other people who would intuitively feel their future was tied up with his ministry. Eventually they would be developed and released through his ministry. It must therefore be expected that without apostolic ministry, many who have a strong desire to serve God will never find ultimate fulfillment or release".

This seems to me to have been realised in the example of prophet Julian Adams (who will be speaking at Together on a Mission). He felt called to spend some time with Terry Virgo - and clearly is ministering with him as both Julian and Terry prayed for Rob Rufus at Prayer and Fasting. This is exciting! These concepts aren't just words or dreams but are being worked out in practice in New Testament Church - TODAY!

"Apostles are people of revelation. Others receive and live off that revelation ... living with people of revelation often makes the shadows larger!".

So let's continue to "write what we see!". God is on the move in our nation and the momentum is surely going to grow and grow. Let's ensure that this coming move of God is not forgotten in history like previous revivals because the people in it didn't write down what they saw. Let us set down a pile of stones as a memorial for coming generations to testify that our God is an awesome, great and powerful God who speaks and acts today and is more than capable of turning the tide into a massive tidal wave of power!

And speaking of writing ... the Charismatic Resurgence post has been updated with three very important new blog posts!