Dr R T Kendall on "Why I endorse the Toronto Blessing"

I am grateful that Dr R T Kendall chose this moment around "Strange Fire" controversies - to share this video via his ministry link.

A bit of context: as I was growing up into life of the Spirit and the charismatic movement, I always tended to see R T Kendall as the "negative/reverse" to our then senior pastor Dr Stanley Jebb.  Both were amazing and outstanding teachers of the Word of God.  And both had the potential to hold the wonderful tension between "Word and Spirit" or reformed doctrine and charismatic experience well.  Dr Jebb sadly was put off by excess he saw and was revolted by.  R T Kendall on the other hand was at the same time opening up to the Holy Spirit and the variety of His work.  It was wonderful to travel down quite regularly to Westminster Chapel to hear R T Kendall's ministry during the dark days of cessationism in Dunstable.

So I am glad to hear again a message I am familiar with (having read it in Dr Kendall's books);

An Endless Optimistic/Oft Disappointed Charismatic is Grateful for Strange Fire!

I've been reflecting on and following some of the Twitter feed discussing John Macarthur's "Strange Fire" conference and I am actually becoming increasingly grateful both personally and as a church observer for what it has done.  I think initially I was furious and thought "Here we go again" - re-living his influence on my beloved home church in Dunstable and the anti-charismatic spirit it brought.

But what it has done has made me reflect and remember why I AM an unashamed charismatic and STILL believe and hope and look for the encounters and interventions of God by His Spirit that the Word of God promises.  I do bitterly regret the last few years of being "prone to wander" from God and His church but my hope and longing for Him has remained unchanged.  I am aware that many of John Macarthur's spirit would immediately discount anything I have to say - "Well he's a backslider - and therefore probably unsaved anyway!".  But the benefit to being on the outside of accepted church circles is that you can say what you like and not fear the consequences of being "excommunicated"! (I'm not sure if the double jeopardy legal principle applies to excommunication - I hope so).

A Small Testimony:
As I said in my previous post on "Strange Fire" I have been charismatic in theology and experience since I was baptised in the Holy Spirit back in 1999.  But if I am honest I would say that while my theology and belief hasn't changed (if anything increased in longing) my experience hasn't been that much measured up to what many charismatics claim, believe or experience today.  My beliefs and theology were built upon by much reading of many books after the senior pastor Dr Stanley Jebb changed his theology and thus the church's.

It wasn't long into my reading that a biographical sermon of John Piper's on Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones led me primarily to his glorious book "Joy Unspeakable" and then more broadly into the whole published works of the Doctor and his remarkable ministry (still take pride of place in my library!).  I should add I still find it remarkable that my pastor Dr Jebb actually sat under Dr Lloyd-Jones for some time as part of his fatherly ministry to younger pastors - and I didn't seize on the link or pick up interest in Dr Lloyd-Jones over 18 years of being under Dr Jebb's ministry.

I heard balanced reformed/charismatics like Dr Ern Baxter (who rapidly became my number one hero!) and taught that a "tension" MUST be held between Word and Spirit.  I think this explains my initial excitement when I first encountered C J Mahaney and PDI (now SGM) as well as of course my ongoing love and appreciation for Terry Virgo and Newfrontiers ("Fundamentally we are a Word and Spirit movement" - Terry Virgo, Brighton 2009).  To go to Stoneleigh Bible Week in 1999 and 2000 and finally in 2001 was a taste of heaven itself almost!  Heavenly worship and singing, the spiritual gifts in evidence and awesome preaching - a demonstration if you will of Ern Baxter's fervent belief that it WAS possible to experience God in all His fullness as the Word of God lays out!

Seeking More:
Throughout my life I have sought to look for and hunger for more, and have had the opportunity to go to many conferences or hear great or renowned men and women of God.  For example I went with my dear friend Pete Day to the Word, Spirit and Power Conference at Westminster Chapel in London in 2001.  We heard and saw Dr R T Kendall (a man I already hugely respected) but also Paul Cain - a famous (now infamous) prophet who had links back to the Kansas City Prophet movement.  I had heard his prophecies were acutely accurate and so I was fascinated, open and hungry to see him.

Was I impressed?  If I'm honest - not particularly.  I couldn't say in integrity any of his prophecies were as I had heard.  Did that make me discount the gift of prophecy?  No.  Of course now it is well known that Paul Cain has fallen into sin - and for many that discounts him and his gift.  Does it mean any of his prophecies were not true?  No.  It just means that Paul Cain was and is a human being and "prone to wander".

Through that conference we heard that Rodney Howard-Browne (of Toronto Blessing fame) was coming to speak at Westminster Chapel at R T Kendall's invitation.  So me and my dad went down.  Our church "missed" the Toronto Blessing due to Stanley Jebb's views on it - and I was eager to see if there was anything in it!

Was I impressed?  Again not particularly.  I wasn't "slain in the Spirit".  At one point Rodney got us all to join hands and sing some sort of "silly" song and people at the end of our pew did fall - hence I "almost" did!  It didn't bother or impress me, but neither did it make me discount the present moving of the Holy Spirit and the fact that some have been touched powerfully by God through Rodney's ministry.

Probably the most powerful visit I did make was a few years back, when I travelled alone to Hong Kong and to the very FIRST (and as yet only!) "Glory and Grace Conference" hosted by the incredible Rob Rufus and City Church International.  I did encounter God powerfully, became over-awed by the true glory of the gospel and the power of the Cross and His resurrection and what that meant for me personally (far more in that one week than I had attending a Sovereign Grace ministries "cross-obsessed" church for 2 years!)

Strange Fire?:
These initial experiences made me hunger to know more of God, alongside reading the Bible about promises such as from 1 Corinthians 14:24 and 25;

"But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you".

To me this is one of the clearest Scriptural indicators of the potential power of the prophetic gift.  I admit I have not seen unbelievers convicted by much of modern prophecy today.  But just because I have not seen or experienced it, does NOT take away from the Word of God!  And one of my greatest frustrations with the cessationist viewpoint outlined by what seems like the WHOLE of the "Strange Fire" conference is exactly this;

Demonstration of excess and spurious means the genuine is not present or real.

RUBBISH!  How can these men who so-called claim they honour and value the Word of God really discount entire portions of Scripture just by the presence of excess?  I look forward to hearing the DVD strreams of "Strange Fire" but I am supremely unimpressed by Tim Challies summaries of the complete lack of exposition - particularly by alleged-"excellent" Bible teacher John Macarthur himself.

It seems appropriate to end this reflection by re-quoting Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones;

"The greatest sin of the evangelical church is to put God into a box and tell Him what He can and cannot do".

That is the only "Strange Fire" I see - but I remain grateful to Macarthur et al for re-stirring a passion within me to seek God through His Holy Spirit.  I have sorely missed Him these past two years!


Reformed and Charismatic from Terry Virgo on Vimeo.

Calling for a New Charismatic Resurgence!!

I've been having a fantastic chat with two former members of my home church in Dunstable about the "coming upon" of the Spirit over on Facebook - provoked by Alex Buchanan's wonderful ministry. Not everyone is aware that during his unique ministry, Alex was a co-pastor at our church in Dunstable and actually dedicated me as a baby. Alex was more famous for his prophetic ministry as a "pastor to pastors" with people such as Terry Virgo and R T Kendall.

I was reflecting on the current life of the charismatic empowering gifts in the local church and it seems to me that once again there has been polarising in the church (especially in the UK). Classic "charismatic" churches have happily settled down into what is "normal" seeing a few manifestations on a Sunday. Cessationist churches most certainly do not. And "open but cautious" churches accept the concept of the charismatic but I guess rarely see it. There is rarely (I think) the "heavenly divine intervention" of spiritual gifts where non-believers are profoundly affected to the point of falling down and saying; "Truly God is among you!".

John Piper wrote famously; "Mission exists because worship does not".

It seems to me that churches are pouring resources into mission - when no one seems to be examining the desperate need for a revival of life, of a charismatic resurgency in our churches - seeing God in the risen Jesus Christ walking among His churches. 2006 and 2007 were years of some excitement and anticipation for me personally among other friends - Rob Rufus's presence at the Brighton conferences here in the UK seemed to suggest that God was moving in this country.

I began to collate a post on the "Spirit of God" blog called "A List of Online Resources for the Charismatic Resurgence". I have loved re-reading it - it reminded me of so much encouraging material I wrote with friends back in those times! The actual post was inspired by my friend Jesse Phillips - an SGM pastor in Florida - who asked the question;

"... if blogs could contribute to a reformed resurgence, could not the blogosphere also contribute to a charismatic resurgence, particularly by increasing people's faith for gifts such as prophecy, faith, miracles or healing?".

In his excellent book, "The Tide is Turning!" - Terry Virgo wrote;

"On the whole we too have grown up in a generation that has not seen the mighty acts of God as our forefathers did. We have not seen revivals during which thousands flock into the churches to get right with God. Unlike our fathers we have not known whole towns change, with demonstrations of power and incredible manifestations of the glory of God. The majority of our generation knows nothing of these things so we may closely identify with the Israel of Gideon's day".

One of the reasons I love drawing people in my parent's generation out about the events in their days - the life that they saw in the 1970's and 1980's was because it is faith-building! It reminds us that God can and does intervene in life! Just because we do not see the mighty acts of God directly here in the UK at the moment - does NOT mean that He cannot and does not do it! Yet so many Christians adapt their theology to meet their experience and as a result our faith drops.

My dearest pastor friend Pete Day wrote this in a blog post;

"I would encourage anyone who God prompts to begin to contribute to the charismatic resurgence! Let's fan the flame in each other's hearts and fan the flame for revival".

I am challenged and would like to re-devote this blog to doing exactly that and "fanning the flame for revival". Of course my other concerns and interests remain - such as my friends in Sovereign Grace and the troubles they are going through - but revival surely must be our primary concern and (as Dr Lloyd-Jones said); "The greatest need of the hour".

Jesse Phillips on Experiencing God

I wonder if any readers remember Jesse Phillips - one of the wonderful pastors at Metro Life Church in Florida. It's a church on my hit list to definitely visit one day when money permits not least to finally meet Jesse and Janelle! But Jesse used to run a brilliant blog I loved called; "Prophetically Speaking". Due to demands on his time he had to sadly discontinue it. But I was sorting out my computer files today and found a Word file I am so glad I kept. When I knew that he was going to stop the blog, I saved all his blog posts for just such an occasion.

I was refreshed by reading this again and re-challenged!

Here's some of what he wrote. We need sensible charismatics who can argue from Scripture when you have cessationists such as Phil Johnson attacking charismatic doctrine (and not arguing from Scripture but experience I might add);

Cessationists can be driven by experience

What if I told you, "We need to go start a revival"? Or, "We need to experience more of God's power and have some amazing encounters with the Holy Ghost"? Or, "What the church really needs is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts"?

How would you respond? You'd probably be concerned that I was turning into some kind of wild revivalist. You would think back to your own experience of how people abused the gifts and would be concerned that I was headed in the same direction.

You may say something like, "I know where that goes and we don't want to go there again." There is certainly much wisdom to be gained from experience. It does not make sense to keep repeating the same mistakes again and again.

There is, however, a universal human tendency to overreact to abuse and misdiagnose the problem. Whenever someone is shot and killed on the street, all of us face the temptation to ask how the criminal came into possession of a gun before asking why hatred filled his heart. Guns can be misused, but they are not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is in the person doing the abusing not the thing that is abused.

As good as wisdom from experience is, it also has limitations. It can lead to these misdiagnoses of problems.

And so, if you were to tell me, "I know where that goes" I would venture to ask, "Even though that's where it led last time, is it possible that it might not lead to the same place this time?" What if we were able to pursue the same things, yet learning from the abuses, be able to enjoy them in a way that is proper this time around?

There is a fine line between gaining wisdom from experience and investing authority in experience.

One of the reasons why people warn against things like revivalism and hot pursuit of the spiritual gifts is because some revivalists are emotionalists, placing authority in experience rather than scripture.

But here's my argument: it's just as easy for people who have had bad experiences to be driven by those experiences, rather than scripture. People who move away from the 'experiential' can, ironically, be just as driven by experience, either their own or others that they want at all costs to avoid. This is simply a different form of experientialism.

Many cessationists and others who have seen the abuses of the spiritual gifts would rather 'not go there' because of bad experiences. They invest authority in percieved bad experiencs and this motivates them toward avoidance, allowing their experiences to unduly influence their opinions on what is true and right.

Is there really a difference between being driven by bad experiences and idolizing good ones? Aren't both things different sides of the coin of experientialism?

I think that cessationists can be experientialists in as much as they think, "This can't be God's will, look at all this abuse." It's one thing to defend your view from scripture (which many cessationists, to their credit, try to do), and quite another to base it on your experience, good or bad.

I think that many cessationists and 'functional cessationists' are somewhat experiential, perhaps a bit more influenced by bad experiences, or the potential of, or the report of, than they they might be aware.

The person who has had a bad experience, and doesn't want any more bad experiences is just as driven by experience as the person who strongly wants a positive experience. The only differences that one is driven positively and the other driven negatively.

We must recognize the differences between abusing the gifts and the gifts themselves. We must also recognize the limitations of the wisdom that comes through experience. Finally, all of us, cessationists, charismatics and everyone in between, must learn to pursue experiences without investing them with authority.

There's one thing we can all be certain of: we'll never fully experience anything that we pursue only cautiously, God or his gifts.

Restoration Magazine - 1975 to 1992

I have been very excited to have received a CD through the post with the ENTIRE collection of Restoration Magazines in PDF format from the Revival Library! It has been a continued source of frustration to me trying to hunt down and find these key foundational magazines to much of my charismatic heritage.

I've got a massive collection of New Wine and Restoration Magazines from my home church in Dunstable when much of the charismatic past was being erased. However there were large gaps in both magazines. David Moore has written possibly the most academic review of the Shepherding Movement in particular and said;

"...essential for an accurate history of the Shepherding movement is a complete collection of New Wine. The magazine published from 1969 through to 1986 was the principal publishing voice of the five teachers and the movement."

It is commonly understood in academic study in general that journals are an essential part of any research - even more useful than many books. Books are written and are often out of date as soon as they are published whereas the journal can tend to keep up to date with the rapidly changing scene of life. I think the same is true for church life and was definately so in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement.

The spiritual scene was changing so rapidly as God poured out His Spirit on the church that in our experience it was the New Wine Magazine (Ern Baxter, Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Don Basham and Derek Prince) and of course Restoration Magazine that was key. For those who don't know - Restoration Magazine was started by Bryn Jones and Harvestime Publications but was unique in that for some years it united other apostles and prophets in the United Kingdom such as Bryn, Keri Jones, Terry Virgo, Tony Morton, Arthur Wallis and my senior pastor Dr Stanley Jebb.

There are 106 magazines on the CD that will keep me busy reading for a while. I have already printed off some articles that caught my attention already - here's a few;

1. Report from the Lakes Bible Week 1975 - from Restoration Magazine - September/October 1975.

2. Report from the Dales Bible Week 1977 - from Restoration Magazine - September/October 1977.

3. "Taking the Nations" by Ern Baxter - from Restoration Magazine - November/December 1977.

4. "How to Interpret the Scriptures" by Stanley Jebb - from Restoration Magazine - November/December 1979.

5. "Growing Churches - Clarendon Church Hove" (now Church of Christ the King in Brighton) - from Restoration Magazine - July/August 1981.

6. "The Best is Yet to Come" by Arthur Wallis - from Restoration Magazine - March/April 1983.

And there are just a few! I am sure there will many Pentecostal/Charismatic quotes (I have already posted one amazing quote from Larry Tomczak) to come from these amazing articles. But already I am finding they are feeding my ache for a new flood of renewal and revival from God. The 1970's and 80's were indeed a unique and amazing time and an extrordinary blessing and demonstration of the grace of God. Do I wish that I had been born a little earlier? Sometimes. I'd have loved to have followed Ern Baxter's ministry in person.

But I do believe without a shadow of doubt that the best is yet to come!

Does Anyone Listen to What They're Singing Anymore?!

Okay this might be one of those points that could sound like a small moan ... maybe. But I hope my point will come across. It was prompted by the purchase of the latest Brighton "Together on a Mission" worship CD - "Salvation's Song: 2008 Live worship from TOAM & Mobilise". It's always hard to listen to a live worship CD and "connect" to the sense of worship there when you weren't actually at the conference yourself. I always find Newfrontiers live worship CD's the easiest to try though - because I've been to more conferences than not, I can imagine pretty well what it was like. But would I rave about it? Because you've probably figured out I am one of those people who can't be lukewarm about anything - I love it or I hate it! Whereas this CD - I'm lukewarm. I love some of the songs (more later) ... I always love Lou Fellingham and Simon Brading's wonderful worship leading ... but ... I don't have the memories to bring it to life!

The one song that has confused me somewhat is Lou Fellingham's recent; "Once I was dead to You (Promised land)". And here's where the whole "hymnody" musing arose. The song (while sang beautifully by herself and the gathered thousands) has the line in it:

"Through Your suffering, I’m forgiven, Pressing onward to the promised land ... His name is Jesus, sent from Heaven, To take us homeward to the promised land".

I have to ask - why did the Fellinghams chose the words "Promised Land" to describe what they clearly mean as heaven? Because in doing so they have abandoned a clear fundamental restorationist type of Old Testament teaching (absolutely central to Ern Baxter's Dales Bible Week 1977 series) and have adopted a more popular but misguided conservative evangelical type - seen in hymns every now and then. Essentially that teaching - as Lou Fellingham sings - is that the "Promised Land" is a spiritual type of heaven and our eternal rest.

But as C H Spurgeon asks:

"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; ...

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".

Does it really matter you may ask? It's "poetic license" and it makes the song sound nice. Well how about I give another example from the more cessationist side of things before drawing my conclusions.

I remember shortly before I left my home church in Dunstable, the new pastor (and successor to Dr Stanley Jebb) was receiving rave reviews from most of the congregation mainly because he was choosing "lively choruses" during the worship - whereas for the last few years in Dunstable, the worship had been restricted to hymns. But I was rather staggered when he proceeded to preach a sermon from 1 and 2 Samuel about Saul prophecying with the prophets - and drew an application from that, that the gift of prophecy did not and could not exist today ... and closed and asked us to stand and sing; "I Hear the Sound of Rustling"!

For those who are not aware of the chorus - "I Hear the Sound of Rustling" was a very popular chorus that was sung during the Charismatic Movement at the Dales and Downs and our own Anglia Bible Weeks. The lyrics included a charismatic theology (that the new pastor of my home church had just spent half an hour trying to dismantle!) including words like this;

"The Spirit of the Lord has come down on the earth

The church that seemed in slumber has now risen from its knees
And dry bones are responding with the fruits of new birth ...

And all around the world the body waits expectantly

The promise of the Father is now ready to fall

The watchmen on the tower all exhort us to prepare

And the church responds-a people who will answer the call

And this is not a phase which is passing

It's the start of an age that is to come ...

A body now prepared by God and ready for war

The prompting of the Spirit is our word of command

We rise, a mighty army, at the bidding of the Lord

The devils see and fear, for their time is at hand ...".

I personally love the song! But there again - I believe fervently in restoration! Why on earth were we singing that chorus after an essentially cessationist sermon in a reformed evangelical functionally cessationist church?! Can that be called "poetic license" too?

And here again we come back to my problem. Are we really listening to what we are singing? One of my favourite historical books charting the Charismatic Movement (or more accurately the Restorationist Movement) is by Professor Andrew Walker and is called; "Restoring the Kingdom". Professor Walker made the point that in his opinion Graham Kendrick was probably the most influential "theologian" of charismatic life in the United Kingdom - purely through his choruses and his songs. So on the one hand songs DO matter! But then on the other - do they?

I must state my profound admiration for SGM and in particular Bob Kauflin at this point. I've made no secret of the fact that I have many problems with some of their ecclesiology. But thanks to songwriters like Bob Kauflin - SGM are 100% consistent in what they believe and in what they sing. I could be wrong but I doubt you will find an SGM-written song promoting a theological viewpoint that they don't believe in. I remember years back Mark Altrogge wrote a number of restorationist songs (because we sang some of them back in Dunstable in the days before I had even heard of C J Mahaney or Larry Tomczak!). I doubt they are sung anymore in SGM circles - and again I applaud the consistency with the changes in theology.

So back to the song that started this "moan" - Lou Fellinghams; "Promised Land". I suppose in the grand scheme of Kingdom New Covenant life - it really doesn't matter whether I sing a song about heaven being like the Promised Land or not. But I think C H Spurgeon has got the ultimate and final point. Are there going to be giants in heaven with cities to take? I sincerely hope not - if Scripture is to be believed. So why then are we singing about it? Does it signify a drift away from Newfrontiers traditional restorationist beliefs or is it really as simple as the line fitted the song quite well? Or does no one really care?!

Was Anyone Present at These Meetings?!

There's nothing like church history to provide awesome encouragement that God moved in power once before and is simply waiting for the acceptance that He is passionate to do it again and see His Church revived, restored and alive!! I am trying to sort through my room and my library and I found this new advert for "Celebration Meetings" - that I remember used to happen much more regularly throughout the year building up to the big Bible Weeks initially at the Dales and the Downs.

Here it is - there are a few well-known names:

How awesome ... one of the things that I loved about that particular time was the honouring of the Word of God through the outpouring of the Spirit. May it happen again soon!

God Spoken About at the United Nations!!

Like Lydia, I'm not really a politics sort of person. I guess if tied down I would say I'm mildly conservative but drift towards Labour - mainly due to my nursing career. (Labour = socialism for my non-UK friends!). However I was setting myself a hour hour run on the treadmill at the gym last night and I was intrigued to see that the President of Iran - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - was speaking at the United Nations and the newscasters premised the speech by saying it would be controversial. And that it was according to what I read on the translators. However that's not the purpose of my post.

What impressed me, challenged me and irritated me was that the President was less than unashamed to state boldly his belief in God. The Name of God was mentioned in probably the most famous world political forum and it was being broadcast around the world! Except it was the Islamic version of their belief in Who God is and was and what His purposes were for the world. Here's an example from his speech in 2007;

"I will also speak to you about the need for remedying the present situation, prospects for a brighter and a more hopeful future, and about the appearance of the sublime and beauty, compassion and generosity, justice and blossoming of all the God-given human talents and the prominence of faith in God and realization of the promise of God".

Here's the thoughts that bothered me. When will the Name of God - the God we believe in - be shouted from the rooftops? We sing; "You are the Lord - the Famous One!" - but is He? And more importantly when will He become famous? Correction - when will He become more famous than He is already? When will He become so famous that the Scripture becomes true - the glory of God has covered the earth as the waters cover the sea?

I realise that many more have perhaps thrown the Florida Outpouring out the window since Todd Bentley's news spread. For example I was disappointed to read R T Kendall's dismissal of Lakeland - mind you, he similarly dismissed Toronto didn't he? But I still persist in maintaining that something HAPPENED in Lakeland. We saw something - we got a taste of something that God means to continue. Here's a video clip of when the Outpouring was meeting in the stadium - and I still get a thrill to see an 11 year old boy climb out of his wheelchair for the first time - AND give God the glory for it.

And I know what some Anonymous commentators may say - where's the proof, where's the doctors reports, where's the evidence blah, blah, blah. Yere - but what's better to be in danger of deception or to be so discerning that you risk never receiving something from God? I know the answer - we shouldn't have to choose. We should be so balanced that we recognise a genuine move of God. The problem that I'm considering is that the best way to become acquainted with the genuine supernatural of God is to actually experience it. And how can we ever experience it if we are so discerning that we never allow it into our lives or our churches?

I've grappled every now and then with the concern that Rob Rufus and the guys in Hong Kong go on too much about the supernatural. I think that song I heard Covenant Life Church perform while I was in SGM was to blame for that - the one that went something like; "Holy God in love became perfect something to bear my pain on the Cross He took my shame by His something I live again" (sorry my memory has faded although we sung it endlessly in Bristol). There's nothing wrong with the song. What I objected to was the sketch in which they seemed to mock other perspectives on the Kingdom of God such as His dominion or His healing power ("I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it"). The impression was given that if you didn't build your entire theology around this salvific motif then you were to be mocked.

That being said I actually DO believe that the Gospel is the central focus of Christianity - of course it has to be! But I don't believe it should be limited to what that song made it. Rob Rufus highlighted that error - making it all about the gospel of salvation rather than the gospel of the kingdom which INCLUDES salvation. That distinction was vitally important for me! And once I grasped it in Hong Kong - I could see that it is through demonstrations of His power verifying the Gospel that His fame really will sweep across this planet.

When will the Name of God be spoken of at the United Nations? Hasten the day Lord!

"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.

Pictures from the Dales Bible Week 1978!

Christian life moves so fast in God that sometimes I may be accused of forgetting what this blog was originally set up for - to honour the memory and ministry of Dr Ern Baxter - and particularly his input into the Charismatic scene in the United Kingdom. I do think it is right to not look back with nostalgia and sentiment so much that you don't move anywhere - but rather to see great men of God such as Ern Baxter as providing foundational apostolic teaching on which to build on - that one day we may indeed take the Land as the corporate Body of Christ!

So I was excited to find these pictures and a report from the Dales Bible Week 1978. Now Ern Baxter was not present that year due to ill health so his close friend and collegue Bob Mumford attended in his place and was the keynote speaker. I have zoomed in on this picture particularly from the spread as you can see Terry Virgo standing next to Bob Mumford as they worship - and Arthur Wallis is on the end of the platform.

This is the main spread from which I took the picture;

May we truly see the Government of God in our lives soon!

John G Lake and Hungering for God

Since Rob Rufus mentioned John G Lake in a recent sermon, I've been interested to read and research a bit more about this great man of God. These encounters that men testify to are not to make us jealous or envious but to provoke us to seek the same God Who is eager and passionate to show Himself to us should we seek Him. One of the books I am reading at the moment is Bill Johnson's most recent; "Face to Face with God - the Ultimate Quest to Experience His Presence". There is a small section in there about John G Lake. Here is some of it;

"John G Lake was a wealthy insurance salesman who was touched by God in an extraordinary way. Day and night, earnestly and at great length he sought more of the Holy Spirit. Lake had an early experience in which he felt what he called "Waves of Holy Glory" by which he was "lifted into a new realm of God's Presence and power. After this, answers to prayer were frequent and miracles of healing occured from time to time. I felt myself on the borderline of a great spiritual realm, but was unable to enter in fully so my nature was not satisfied with attainment".

In response he pursued God's face more and more, dedicating certain hours of the day to prayer and maintaining communion with God's Spirit as he conducted his daily business. Almost every evening after his day's business was completed, Lake preached and ministered. He also met with a group of like-minded friends. Together they were determined to "pray through" to their goal - a complete baptism of the Holy Spirit, as they believed the early disciples had received it with signs following.

Lake said to the Lord, "God if You will baptise me in the Holy Spirit and give me the power of God, nothing shall be permitted to stand between me and a hundred-fold obedience". One day the Lord said to him, "Be patient until autumn" and Lake knew his prayers were being heard. One afternoon that that fall, a fellow minister asked Lake to accompany him to the home of a woman who requested prayers for healing. For ten years this woman had been in a wheelchair because of inflammatory rheumatism. As his friend spoke with the lady to prepare her for prayer, Lake sat across the large room in a low chair. There he had a powerful encounter with God;

"My soul was crying out to God in a yearning too deep for words, when suddenly it seemed to me that I had passed under a shower of warm tropical rain, which was not falling upon me but through me. My spirit and soul and body, under this influence, was soothed into such a deep still calm as I had never known. My brain, which had always been so active, became perfectly still. An awe of the Presence of God settled upon me.

Some moments passed, I don't know how many. The Spirit said; "I have heard your prayers, I have seen your tears. You are now baptized in the Holy Spirit". Then currents of power began to rush through my being from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. The shocks of power increased in rapidity and voltage. As these currents of power would pass through me, they seemed to come upon my head and rush through my body and through my feet into the floor. The power was so great that my body began to vibrate intensely so that I believe had I not been sitting in a low chair I might have fallen upon the floor".

At that point, his friend not noticing the state he was in, invited Lake to come and help him prayer. Lake could hardly walk, he was trembling so violently. While his friend continued to kneel down in front of the woman's wheelchair, Lake simply touched her head lightly (so as not to jar her with his trembling) and he felt "currents of holy power" pass through his body. He knew she felt it too, even though she didn't say anything.

"My friend who had been talking to her in his great earnestness had been kneeling as he talked to her. He arose saying, "Let us pray that the Lord will now heal you". As he did so, he took her hand. At the instant their hands touched, a flash of dynamic power went through my person and through the sick woman and as my friend held her hand, the shock of power went through her hand and into him".

As I read this, I remembered Rob Rufus teaching on "The Anointing" and made the point:

"The power is that tangible it doesn’t matter whether you shake or fall, you can feel it leaving and if it doesn’t leave you know they won’t get healed. The power has to flow out of us and into the body. If it goes into the body the power will go like a heat seeking missile to the problem if it is big enough".

So on with John G Lake's account;

"The rush of power into his person was so great that it caused him to fall on the floor. He looked up at me with joy and surprise and springing to his feet said, "Praise the Lord, John, Jesus has baptized you in the Holy Ghost!". Then he took the crippled hand that had been set for so many years. The clenched hand opened and the joints began to work, first the fingers, then the hand and the wrist, then the elbow and the shoulder".

"Lake himself was thrilled at the inexpressible peace and joy that flooded his inner being. He felt that truly the Spirit had imparted to him; "a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14 KJV). God's love poured through him. He saw people as lost sheep and the passionate desire of his soul became the proclamation of salvation message of Jesus accompanied by powerful healing and blessing".

After reading this I sat back and felt a deep hunger rush through me. Rob says that if the manifest Presence of God doesn't come for one day - he will get lonely!! I am so provoked by that! I texted Pete Day about our mutual longing for more of this and he texted back;

"I long for that reality. It is the norm! God speaking, drenching, healing. We have the Spirit giving life to our mortal bodies. Resurrection power in new spirits given the moments we were saved so with the right to have His anointing flow all over us and authority to command healing. I just want this so much".

I guess I could blog about disapproving Emerging choruses and poking fun at the poor theology (HT: Mark Heath). But how will that help save the lost or spread the gospel or see signs and wonders and miracles rise up in the Church? How will that help me deepen my relationship with God? Sorry but if you are looking for interaction with what's wrong with Emerging churches then this is the wrong blog for you!

Farewell to Jesse and at one with Terry Virgo!!

This was going to be something of a "blog-spotting" post but I really want to emphasise two blogs in particular and they deserve a post of their own - so the blog-spotting one will follow maybe tomorrow or later in the week.

Firstly I am saddened to note that Jesse Phillips has decided to withdraw from the blogging world and focus on his family and church commitments. Jesse is probably one of the bloggers who has had most impact on me and from whom I have learnt much (alongside Pete, Julie, Lydia, and Terry Virgo). His passion for the Holy Spirit and for "more" of the manifest Presence of God is sadly rare in the blogging and Christian world today. He has taught me some very useful new words that are now part of my theological vocabulary such as "functional cessationist" (as so many sadly are) and "Charismatic Resurgence" (as we pray continues to grow!)

But Jesse mixed that passion with a rational, careful theology that respects the infallibility of the Word of God. He is an incredible gift to the Church and I hope that Sovereign Grace Ministries do not miss his gifting and make full use of him. His blog is going to remain public for only about a week so I urge everyone to go and make use of his resources - particularly his papers on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Such a key issue so vitally needed today. Thank you Jesse. We deeply appreciate you and you will be missed, although we respect your brave decision to put what matters most first.

Secondly I am thrilled to read Terry Virgo's latest blog post: "Filled with the Spirit" - in light of my last post; "Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Resurrection!". How thrilling when God speaks the same subject again and again through different people! Terry begins by noting that although Dr Lloyd-Jones was key in providing an irrefutable theology for believing in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as a distinct, glorious experience and inheritance allowing us to cry; "Abba!" - he is right in asking why the Doctor did not put his theology into practice and lay hands on people. One quote caught my attention;

"I was fascinated to note that John Piper exonerated Dr Lloyd-Jones’ view of the baptism of the Holy Spirit but asked the question, ‘Where were the Doctor’s hands?’ He went on to answer, ‘Probably in his books.’".

Where do people say our hands are? I fear that if someone was asked where my hands are, the answer would probably be; "In his books", or "typing his blog". While that is an okay practice, I wish that people could say more and more that my hands are being laid on people for healing, or to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Terry Virgo is an awesome example of someone who loves theology and books but more and more he is being used of God to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit and signs, wonders and miracles from God. Where are we laying our hands? Even if we aren't seeing Acts miracles yet, are we at least laying hands on people to give God the chance to act?

Terry closed his blog by saying;

"As people heard clear instruction on Sunday morning their faith was stimulated, their expectation lifted and they came and received".

Let us never be in danger of despising theology for experience. Rob Rufus taught us so ably at Brighton that the teaching of the Word of God is key for building people's faith. One one occasion one woman was vehemently opposed to his being there and didn't believe it was right she was healed - but that her sickness was for the "glory of God". As Rob opened the Word of God she became angry that she had been deceived so and was healed! As we read and soak ourselves in the Bible we will find our faith rising and rising.

There is so much more to receive and experience from God! Have you received the Holy Spirit in power? It's a promise of God for you! Not only that - Jesus Christ died in agony on the Cross so that heaven might be opened and the Holy Spirit be poured out. Look to Jesus and ask Him for power from on high today as you read. "Come to Me and drink all you who thirst". Come to Him! Drink! Receive! This world is crying out desperate for a church that is baptised in the Holy Spirit and speaking and moving in power.

The "Hovering" Presence of God

I have just finished transcribing an absolutely GLORIOUS message - Rob Rufus was preaching in Dubai at a "Glory and Grace Conference" and he made mention of Psalm 91:1; "He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High". Rob made some comments about this verse that gave me a new insight into the Word of God and the dynamic Presence of God. Up until now I have always read that verse and thought of a static Presence. But Rob said;

"Shadow" - that word is the "Hovering Presence of God" - it is not just a static Presence. It is a Presence like we see when the Presence of God was hovering over the deep in Genesis 1:2. This is like a helicopter over you and there is a down-draft of the Presence of God. The hovering Presence of God - the shadow of the Almighty will be over your life".

I found a clip on You-Tube that illustrates this quite well:



I have lived with this revelation for a few days now since I last heard it and typed it on the Rob Rufus blog and it is certainly having effect on my life! Why is it that we in the Church reduce God to a static, remote Being in heaven? Everything in the Word of God points to Him being a dynamic, Living Being who delights to break out and demonstrate His power, His glory, His miracles, His signs and His wonders! In short He delights to show the world that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and ALL that dwell therein"!

It is a remarkable difference - the traditional evangelical view of "living under the shadow of His wing" is quite passive and defensive. We even used to sing an old chorus in the Charismatic Movement that went;

"Living under the shadow of His wing, We find security - Standing in His presence we will bring - Our worship, worship, worship to the King. Heart to heart embracing in His love, Reveals His purity - Soaring in my spirit like a dove, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord".

There is nothing wrong with that more gentle image but when you live with the very dynamic image of a helicopter hovering over you constantly with downdrafts of power affecting you and coursing through you, suddenly it becomes not quite so surprising that in the Book of Acts; "their shadows healed the sick".

May we all become more concious of the powerful Presence of God hovering over our lives and using us to His glory to further His Kingdom and demonstrate His power in covering the earth with His glory!

A Prophecy of Angels - Ministering Spirits!!

At present I am posting the prophecies that were given during the "Glory and Grace Conference" in Hong Kong on the Rob Rufus blog (here and here so far). I have mentioned about how outstanding the depth of the prophetic was during the conference and I have been trying to figure out why. Here's a couple of thoughts;

1. The Holy Spirit was let loose. I realise that sounds somewhat almost blasphemous because the Holy Spirit is God - He doesn't need to be let loose surely? Well in my 30 years of church experience, I've seen plenty of what the Word of God would call Him being "quenched". So I think "let loose" to burst in flame is actually quite accurate. During the conference Rob Rufus told us that he had promised God before the conference he wouldn't turn down a single prophecy. Obviously the fleshly and the heretical would be dealt with (of which I heard neither) - but he said that he was so tired of the prophetic being turned down. There was free reign at the conference! And I think the Holy Spirit took full advantage of that.

2. Prophecying for Mission. Cessationists delight in recounting prophecy after prophecy of self-delighting and self-worth. John MacArthur has many prophecies to recount in his various books for example. But in Hong Kong I heard again and again God's heart for the nations thunder out. And how in line with 1 Corinthians 14 is that? The unbelievers will come in, hear prophesying and fall down and say "God is truly among you!". For example one prophetic statement that kept occuring was; "China is Mine!". Another example came from a prophecy of Rob's;

"I am going to establish a move of My Spirit in Hong Kong that will touch the world". He said; "It won't primarily touch the church - it will touch the world. It will touch the church but it will touch the unsaved"

I suspect in my experience that the Holy Spirit gets excited when the church's heart matches His own to see the whole earth covered with the glory of the Lord.

I am thrilled that this particular prophecy was included on the CD because it proved quite catalytic for me personally. I shared here on my testimony of my time in Hong Kong that Ryan Rufus (Rob's son) prophesied about angels. As soon as he began prophesying I began to have a dramatic vision of an angel manifesting behind me and firing my worship to God. Well here is the transcript of the prophecy and what Ryan declared;

"God said to me the other day that these are the days that some of your closest friends are going to be angels. Your closest friends are going to be angels of God - the cherubim of His glory! You are going to get to know them in these days - they are going to reveal themselves to you. You will even get to know their names. I see angels on the left of us and on the right of us and between those cherubim of His glory - I see His glory Presence coming down on us!

These are the days when our closest friends will be angels of God! Oh, my friend went out running the other day (his name is Tony) and he was doing these laps and he was feeling quite discouraged. Suddenly he saw a mighty angel right next to him and he reckons it was an angel of encouragement and he heard the angel saying; "Tony go for it! Keep going! You are doing well! Run man! Keep going Tony! Pick up the pace and run!".

I see heaven open! I see the angels of glory - the cherubim angels of His glory coming down upon us that are in Christ bringing the glory Presence of God! God come in Your glory! Bring your glory! We say "Come angels descend upon Christ in these days in Jesus Name!".

Whatever we may make of that prophecy - we cannot deny that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve the mission of God and indeed us in these final days. Countless men and women through the Bible saw angels manifest to them in times of need. Why not us? We are at the climax of the consumation of the ages! Do we not need angels in these days? Maybe those with inbuilt "discernment detectors" are going mad at this point. Yes indeed Lucifer appears as an angel of light - but genuine angels will not point to themselves or draw attention to themselves. Indeed the Word of God makes it quite plain they won't even allow any worship of them. That was my experience in Hong Kong. The angel who appeared to me wouldn't even let me look at him but kept point towards the glory of God.

May this word prove a catalyst like it was for me. Maybe you are feeling weary and broken and desperate. Maybe you are hurting. Lift your gaze - cry out to God. Maybe you need supernatural strength to keep going. Lift your gaze - look up! You may just sense the presence of a minstering spirit come to change the whole situation and reveal the glory of God to you!

Anglia Bible Week Worship 1983

I'm not overly fond of writing autobiographical statements without due cause, but every now and then something comes up that is part of my history. I made this clip from an old video I found while I was unpacking and sorting the new flat. It gives a powerful clip into something of my spiritual heritage. The Anglia Bible Weeks were run by my home church and Dr Ern Baxter was one of the main visiting speakers. The series; "The Priestly Clothing" was preached in 1983 - the same year as this worship.

You can in fact spot Ern Baxter during the worship if you look closely. When the camera scans over the congregation you can see him standing on the front room. Old friends such as Mark Heath will probably recognise some of the elders from our home church too! I love the song they march around the cattleshed too (yes we met in cattlesheds long before Stoneleigh!) - "The Church of God is moving!".

Hope you enjoy it and sense the Presence of God blessing that particular time in church history. There was an anointing there that is still valid today as Rob Rufus taught as Brighton in July. The timelessness of the glory! The Bible Weeks may generally be over - but the anointing is still there. We can still benefit much from listening to past tapes and hear past worship.



Just as a matter of interest, I copied an old "Dales Bible Week" worship tape to MP3 and posted it here on esnips.

Further New Wine Magazines Available!!

I was excited to note that the Charles Simpson Ministries have made another 2 years of New Wine Magazines available in their archives on their website - from January 1981 to December 1982. These magazines covered the span of several decades and contained prophetic content that wasn't seen before and still isn't seen very much since. While the five men involved - Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Don Basham and Ern Baxter - were known for more controversial reasons surrounding the Shepherding Movement, they were primarily five extraordinary men with apostolic/prophetic giftings and above all a passion for the glorious Church. That alone makes the New Wine Magazines worth preserving and reading.

New Wine Magazine was a charismatic magazine - in that they believed in the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit for today in church and to be welcomed as manifest - but they did not focus on the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit to the exclusivity of other aspects of church life. Even more theologian S David Moore - the only man to so far objectively chart the Shepherding Movement's history - wrote;

"...essential for an accurate history of the Shepherding movement is a complete collection of New Wine. The magazine published from 1969 through to 1986 was the principal publishing voice of the five teachers and the movement."

It is my hope to build up a catalogue of the huge amount of magazines so that the articles and authors can be accessed more easily and quickly. For now here is a number of magazine articles which Ern Baxter wrote and the topics they deal with as well as the links.

New Wine Magazine - February 1981

"Discipling the Nations - God will use His prophetic community to speak to the nations" - by Dr Ern Baxter (p4).

New Wine Magazine - September 1981

"Kingdom Culture - Rediscovering Our Mandate" by Dr Ern Baxter (p14).

New Wine Magazine - April 1982

"King of Glory - The Cross was only the beginning of Jesus conquest" by Dr Ern Baxter (p28).

New Wine Magazine - May 1982

"The Holy Spirit" by Dr Ern Baxter (p10).

"50 Year of Ministry - A tribute to Dr Ern Baxter" (p15).

New Wine Magazine - October 1982

"Before the Throne - An interview with Dr Ern Baxter on Worship" (p20).

So most importantly get to the New Wine Magazine Archive and start reading! Or if your time is limited, then keep your eyes open for the New Wine Magazine catalogue that I will be publishing as soon as possible.

Ern Baxter baptized in the Holy Spirit!!

One of the most important aspects to the "Life on Wings" interviews with Dr Ern Baxter that Mark Heath so kindly hosted for me was the very personal insights into one of the greatest prophetic preachers of the last century. The first video covered aspects of Ern's testimony and this video clip that I am posting was his testimony as to how he first received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. May this video clip cause many to ask "have I received?". This inheritance is a birthright of every believer as promised in the Word of God! Furthermore it is something to be SEEN and HEARD. If you've received the Holy Spirit in power then people will know.

The transcript of the interview clip is below;



In context he said just previously;

"And it was in that conference that I met God in the dimension of the Holy Spirit and had a dynamic experience on July 2nd at twenty minutes to 4 in the morning and I just had a visitation of God and in the process I clearly heard the Lord speaking in my consciousness which I have always considered to be my call and it was simply this: “I want you to preach My Word”. And that has stood me through 60 years. Because time and again when I had been tempted to go this way or that way or do something I hadn’t been called to do – I remembered the word of this calling: “I want you to preach My Word”.

Then the actual video clip;

"I don’t know maybe 200 or 300 people gathered, but people began to filter off and go off to their cottages and so on because this was a big conference complex. And I was hungry now – I had sort of a desperation because I saw that I was the odd man out. About midnight I thought; “Well I guess this wasn’t for me”.

I’d been in this prayer meeting and so I went to my cabin and it wasn’t far from the auditorium. I threw myself on the top of my bed and as I lay there I heard the sounds of joy coming from the tabernacle. I don’t know how long I lay there but I got up again and went back. There was a young man deeply involved with the Spirit some distance from me and suddenly God put a faith in my heart to get up and go and identify with him. So I got up and went and identified with him. The minute I put my arm around him, God visited me.

And I was filled with holy laughter and this may sound strange to some people but how God acts on people is different. I laughed with a laughter I had never laughed with before. It was holy – it was deep. And then I began to speak with an unknown tongue and I couldn’t stop.

That was at twenty minutes to four in the morning. And for 3 days I lived in the Presence of this life-changing, career-changing moment. I go back to it again and again in especially in times of discouragement. I go back to it and realise the sovereignty of God and the sovereignty of His actions. There I was a few months before facing probable death from tuberculosis and now here I am wrapped up in the might and power of God and not knowing where I’m going but excited and full of joy in the Holy Ghost".

In all our interest (and quite correct interest) in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and our desire to see them flood the Church today, let's not forget this promise of the Risen Christ that He is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and stands ready and willing to give us this joy unspeakable and full of glory - this encounter with Him!

OPEN HEAVEN!!

The phrase that has been flying round and round my head today is the phrase; "Open Heaven!!". It's a concept that my head has been struggling with and simply can't get to grips with but my spirit is soaring with! It all started when I listened to Rob Rufus's latest sermon in his Holy Spirit series that he preached last Sunday. They started the tape early before his sermon and it sounded distinctly to me like Rob was prophesying. He said this;

"People will come here and see what God does - OPEN HEAVEN! - Angels turn up - signs and wonders - miracles happen and they will go back to their nations to say "You missed out on Something in Hong Kong!". Because God is gathering people around Glenda and myself to stand with us to see revival in Hong Kong and a move of the Spirit in Hong Kong that will astonish and shock the nations and the nations will be touched by what God does! Don't sleep in the glory!! Don't sleep in the visitation!! Don't be distracted by stupid trivia in the revival that is coming!

Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!! Because before you know it, it has gone past you and you can't catch up and those who are running in the glory can't take time to come back. It is too dangerous - there's too much business! There are millions waiting - millions of churches in bondage - and now God is saying, "I am in a hurry! I am going to raise up hundreds of people who are willing to make self-sacrifices, inconvinience themselves and give themselves to My Kingdom purposes and live for eternity and live for My divine purposes and repent of just living for earthly reasons".

The Kingdom of Heaven is breaking into Hong Kong!".

Open Heaven! I must admit my tired, lethargic, pre-caffeine head had a first thought - "How arrogant! How does Rob know there will be open heaven at the conference? How can he state that with such absolute certainity?". But then I was walking back from the Children's Hospice where I now work and I was listening to my fabulous in-built MP3 player on my phone to one of my favourite songs - "Yours is the Kingdom" (fabulous when it is lead by either of my favourite worship leaders - Kate Simmonds or Darlene Zschech!). And there was that phrase again!

"Heaven is OPEN - Death is broken!".

So is it a very biblical concept then? Rob Rufus says it and it's sung - but where does it come from in the Bible? Well a brief Bible study when I got home and I realised that it is actually everywhere. EVERYWHERE! The word the Bible uses tends to be the word "Access". Here's a few examples (all from the NASB of course)

Ephesians 2:18 (NASB) - " ... for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father".

A magnificent Trinitarian verse! Through our Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Christ we have ACCESS to God the Father but in the Holy Spirit! It is all through the Holy Spirit! Ignore, abandon and quench Him and the experiential reality of such access will be stunted.

Ephesians 3:12 (NASB) - " ... in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him".

The Bible seems to fly in the face of much religious practice today and actually state that our access is not even to be timidly and cowardly on our knees - but BOLDLY and CONFIDENTLY! So suddenly Rob Rufus's initial statement - "Open Heaven" - that so gripped my attention doesn't actually seem to arrogant does it?! Rather it seems a Biblical expectation!

Hebrews 4:16 - (NASB) - "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need".

This Scripture actually carries much significance for me! My dear friend Pete might not remember this but this theme marked the first public prophecy I ever gave at his church - Lansdowne Evangelical Church in West Norwood. I was a guest at the church but nervously gave this prophetic word that I felt God was saying - freely come! The way is made clear! Pete went on to preach from Hebrews about this exact same theme - access! Heaven's open!

This cannot be more powerfully demonstrated than at the point when Jesus died;

Matthew 27:51 - (NASB) - "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split".

Jesus died - so that the way into the Throne Room of Heaven! THIS is how Rob Rufus can so confidently state that there will open heaven in Hong Kong! This is how we can sing; "Heaven's open! Death is broken!". Because the veil has been torn in two from top to bottom - from heaven to earth (it was heaven's initiative) - and we can now come in. I am sure that most evangelicals would pay lip service to this - but the whole point of this is that I am tired of head knowledge - yes, heaven's open. I want to EXPERIENCE it! I want every sense - physical and spiritual - to be alive with the certain and sure knowledge that I am standing in open heaven!

So ... let's make FULL use and advantage of this! Let's begin to get our heads round that awesome, life-changing truth! Heaven stands open! All we have to do is come boldly and confidently knowing that when God looks at us He sees us as totally righteous in Christ Jesus!

True Apostle - True Father

It's a thrill to see Terry Virgo embark back into the blog world with a full and comprehensive report of his summer! Unsurprisingly he has been excessively busy ministering all over the world (but mainly in Africa). I must admit when I read his blog I understood something of how the prodigal son felt when he saw the father again for the first time. I'm not saying I'm prodigal or coming home - but like many thousands upon thousands of us in Newfrontiers I do see Terry Virgo as a true father and when he's not around - I miss him! He doesn't know me but such is his ministry and calling.

I was browsing through some of the "touristy" photos he has posted there and found my attention seized by this one;

So why this one? Well firstly I noticed the T-shirt that Terry is wearing. "Newday"! The young people's Bible Week! I have yet to see another photo of any self-styled apostle around the world who is wearing a T-shirt with the logo of the young people in their movement of churches. If there is one - forgive me, name it in the comments and I will retract! But I think this is very significant. Apostles MUST be fathers. If they don't have a father's heart I wonder if they are really apostles. Terry has never failed to move me as I watch the joy and thrill in his face as he watches the Mobilise at Brighton dance wildly on the offering night, or hear the excitement in his voice as he recounts what Newday are doing or will be doing. I've never heard Terry utter a harsh or condemning word against the young people (as has been my sad experience in my past churches). He is for the young people and doesn't fail to show it.

Secondly (and this is me being a bit silly) - does anyone see the rainbow? I wonder if the photographer saw the rainbow when they took the picture? Rainbows are a sign of God's eternal and everlasting grace. It seems to me that God was putting His seal on that photograph too because Terry has consistently and faithfully exposed more people to the grace of God and the joyous freedom it brings than many. It's sort of like the famous William Branham photograph isn't it - where the halo of light came down!

Thirdly it made me quite excited to see this photo and the kind of people that Terry Virgo is travelling around with. Julian Adams made quite an impression on me at Brighton with his powerful prophetic ministry and I know a lot of people speak very highly of P J Symthe.

So all that being said - this post is all about a reflection on the excitement of being part of an apostolic/prophetic movement with an audacious vision to "change the expression of Christianity around the world". With a father like Terry Virgo who is for the young people in his family as well as travelling around in the company of prophets rather than Reformed scholars (not that there is anything wrong with scholars) I think Newfrontiers is set with it's sights on the horizon for some time to come!