Unless You Become Like a Child ...

I'd like to take a different take on this "indwelling sin" discussion. We all think we know what God is like and what works best, but if we are truly honest - all we have to go on is our knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and also our experiences as a child. And maybe there is a reason why Jesus said to His disciples; "Unless you become like a child ...". So I took a trip down memory lane and started to think about the many, many times that I was disciplined, told-off, spanked and so on by my parents.

I should add my parents came from the school of thought that you "spare the rod and spoil the child".

So the numerous times that I was spanked, shouted at and generally told off tends to blur for me and doesn't particularly stand out to me. The one caveat is the times that I was punished unjustly when my parents got it wrong. For some reason as children my family all grew up with a rigorous sense of justice - and there was NOTHING that upset us more than the feeling of being treated unjustly. I guess that has still stuck with me - as some church leaders who have "got it wrong" should know!

However ... parents can react in different ways too. And I don't think any grown-up child will disagree if I say that there is nothing more stunning and breath-taking than to see your parent weep over you or your actions. I have seen it rarely that I recall - but the times I have I can recall vividly.

I remember my greatest hero Ern Baxter speaking about a time when as a teenage rebel he came in early in the morning after a wild night out and he saw a light still on under his Grandmother's bedroom door (who lived with him and his parents at the time). He stopped curiously to see why she was awake and heard a soft weeping from her room and heard her praying and interceeding for Ern and his soul. Ern recalled this story probably some 60 or so years later so it obviously stayed with him.

The second piece of evidence I want to give is a prophetic song that I've posted before. It was sung by Rob Rufus in Hong Kong during a special Miracle weekend that City Church was holding. When I first heard the song it made me weep - but more for the vision and passion for the city of Hong Kong. I'm home alone at my parent's in Bristol (they're out at some church function thing) - and I happened to listen to it again. And it was the "Father's heart" that stuck out to me. The words of the song are breath-taking! This is GOD ALMIGHTY - speaking as a Father.

Here is the video (it's not great quality - so the words are underneath);



"For I'm turning the hearts of the fathers to the sons,
I'm turning the hearts of the sons to the fathers.
I'm turning the hearts of My people towards Me,
I'm turning the hearts away from things of death.
And I'm turning the hearts to the ways of truth and life,
Yes I'm turning the hearts to My Presence alive!

In My Presence - with your hearts turn to Me, you will hear My voice - so clear and so true, today! Today! TODAY!
Turn your hearts to Me - turn away from misery!
Turn away from unbelief! Turn away from every offence!
Turn away from all bitterness and turn to Me your God!".

I would imagine there is nothing more hurtful and frustrating to a parent (not being one myself) than having a child with a victim-mentality who will not allow you to come near them but winces if you try to hug them or hold them or give them a kiss. Maybe this is something that adoptive parents may experience with a child from an abusive biological family.

Is there really much difference if God has stated; "I am NOT holding your sins against you for I have seen My justice is satisfied because My Son took the punishment for ALL your sins in YOUR place - I have only passion and love and happiness and adoration in My heart for you" - and our response? To sing mournful hymns about being "little worms" and staying deliberately out of His Presence until we feel we have paid penance for our "sins"?

Being in my parents house alone - I sat and listened for a bit at the lit bedroom door of heaven. I feel it's been far too long since I have wrapped myself in the warm embrace of my heavenly Father and I wondered what He is saying about me. I heard soft weeping - just like Ern Baxter's grandma - and I heard something like this;

"Why? Why won't he see that he is feeling rubbish and condemned about nothing? I have put his mistakes and sins as far from Me as the east is from the west. I have chosen to obliterate them from My mind beecause they were obliterated 2000 years ago when You held open Your arms and bled and died for him. Why can't he see that? Why is he letting the lies of the devil through church take him from Me and the love I want to shower upon him? He winces and fears I will hit him or look sorrowfully upon him but all I want to do is wrap him in my arms and love him as a true Father should! When will he realise? When?".

As Terry Virgo put it so well;

"The Cross amazes me and fills me with wonder and worship, praise and thanksgiving! To insist on still calling myself a sinner could not add value to the Cross for me. Indeed, to call myself essentially a sinner actually dishonours the wonder of the gospel".

I may have made many mistakes in my life - some mistakes the church would suggest would disqualify me from ever enjoying fellowship with God again. But I don't intend to let unbelief and unnecessary condemnation keep me from wrapping myself in my Father's arms any longer. Dishonouring the Gospel is one sin I would rather not have to explain when I get to heaven by persisting in calling myself; "the worst of sinners" when Jesus and Jesus alone took that upon Himself 2000 years ago!

Signs of an Unwell Christian?

I got a email this morning in response to my post of yesterday entitled; "Don't you know there's a war on?". In SGM-speak you could call it an "observational" email. In short the emailer was suggesting that I am proud for appearing unsatisfied and unhappy with the Christian life and my current experience of God and should "calm down" and "grow up". I'm rather used to this so-called "mature" advice - I was told that by an elder in Dunstable just after I was baptised in the Holy Spirit in 1997 and kindly rejected that advice also.

But I was walking home thinking about how Christians strike the balance between bitterness and disappointment at the silence of God - compared to a holy and righteous persistance in the throne room of God. Dr Lloyd-Jones was fonding of quoting Thomas Goodwin - a great Puritan - who would say;

"Sue Him for it! Sue Him for it! Do not let Him go until He give the Spirit to you!".

This was speaking of praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

My mind then went to my nursing career. I have been a critical care paediatric nurse for almost 9 years now so venture to say I know a little about child health. One of the most basic things that a child does is to cry. Children cry instinctively. And their tears speak of a need - it is usually either food or care or a nappy change. But their tears presuppose a need - that someone will come and meet that need if they cry.

One of the MOST worrying things for any health care professional - doctor, nurse or other - is a child who doesn't cry and has stopped crying. A child who is sickly and pale and malnourished and mistreated and is deathly silent. That child needs instant medical attention. The child has stopped crying possibly because their needs were consistently never met by a loving parent or possibly no longer have the strength to show their need anymore.

It struck me that empassioned prayer is somewhat like a crying child. We are telling a loving Father of our need and of our most basic desires. I wonder - does a Christian who is sickly and pale and disappointed and disillusioned somewhat resemble that desperately ill child? Surely we must never, ever give up crying to God and pleading with Him for our deepest hearts desire.

Don't You Know There's a War On?

I got angry today! Really angry! My day started off with me waking up crying and shaking because I had a very vivid nightmare that I was back working at Acorn's Children's Hospice and being bullied by the staff that drove me out earlier this year. It was one of "those" dreams that was so real that I just woke up feeling upset and depressed and hopeless. I went out to work - my mood not improved by the rain and the cold - and just felt like I wanted to end it all. I have experienced depression earlier this year and knew the cold tentacles of it creeping back. But then rather than sucuumbing to it, "something" just made me get MAD!

I don't know what it was but I am so grateful for it! I started speaking to the powers of darkness and said something like this;

"Do you think I am stupid? I have seen your schemes and you are neither clever nor subtle. You don't care whether I am rich or poor, in a relationship or single, with child or without child, in a job or jobless. Your sole ambition is to remove my faith in a good and abundant God and you will try and do this WHATEVER the cost and however long it takes. As long as I have faith burning in me that God loves me and is for me - then you are losing.

And at times this year - I give you credit - you have won some battles. I ended up taking anti-depressants and considering committing suicide because life seemed hopeless and I despised myself. But you haven't and never will win the war. God is STILL for me and He STILL loves me. I admit - I can't feel His manifest Presence right now. I admit I can't hear His voice speaking to me right now. But I declare to you - principalities and powers - that does NOT mean that He isn't here and He isn't speaking!

I may feel like I am holding on to my faith and my vision with a fingernail - but the Word of God tells me; "Underneath are the Everlasting Arms!". So even if I let go and give up - even if I have no fight within me - He is still there and He will never give up on me! He is for me! So you lose! And may I remind you of your ultimate future? The Word of God tells me that your destiny is a firey pit that will never go out. But the Word of God tells me that the future of the people of God is a glorious one - the nations will come because it is so glorious!".

And I went on in that vein all the way into work. And then I remembered from my history the famous motto; "Don't you know there is a war on?". The people of God seem to get so easily battered around by the powers of darkness and life in general. We get so easily depressed! At least I do. Finances - or lack of - are the key in getting me down. But work has got me down this year. The lack of spiritual life and power that I enjoyed in 2006/07 has got me down. But does that mean God has changed?

The devil would seek to use this to say He has and His love is not as great as it was! But Jesus Christ Himself called the devil; "The father of lies". Are we really so stupid that we will believe his lies that God does not love us and is not for us? The louder the shouts in our head tell us that God has given up on us or God does not really love us - the greater the suggestion that the devil is launching a campaign.

We are at war! Let's not forget it! The war is not for territory or for geography ... yet. Because the devil doesn't need to fight for geography or territory! The war is for our faith and our hearts and our vision. When he has got a defeated, miserable and negative church - then the geography and territory is his anyway! We need to "stir up the gift that is within us"! We need to set our hearts ablaze! We need to fight and NEVER surrender!

SUDDENLY from Heaven!!

Rob Rufus received a word from God a couple of years back that has resonated with me since I heard it. He mentioned it during the monumental "Invading the Impossible" series;

"Please Rob, tell My people to stop trying to impress Me with human effort and holiness and obedience. Let Me impress them".

I think years of inbuilt pride and legalistic traditions of men have kept me from doing that even when I have thought I was trying. Without trying to conjour sympathy (because I know others are going through the same thing) this year has been AWFUL! Just - horrendous and I won't go too much into detail. I was driven out of my job at Acorns Children's Hospice by homophobic bullies at the beginning of the year and then have gone from one crisis to another. Even personal events - such as my car catching on fire on the motorway - all just seemed to come altogether!

I think I am beginning to understand why. I am now running on empty. I am pretty upset, bitter, sad and exhausted. I don't have much energy to even muster any faith in God - other than the prayer; "Lord I believe - help my unbelief". I don't have any money to be able to give away and bless other people or enable me to work towards what I feel is my calling. It's just all ... gone!

I realised tonight when I was walking home from work that is a pretty good place to be actually. Because I am out of ideas to try and "impress" God. All I can do is sit back and wait and watch for Him to act. For Him to prove His Word - to Rob Rufus. For Him to impress! For Him to be God! Throughout the Word of God - the worst thing that He could do was to remain silent.

Ern Baxter preached a sermon in my home church in Dunstable called; "Sovereign Surprises". Ern was talking about the burning bush and said;

"A lot of Christian life is very plebeian and ordinary and mundane and unexciting and uninteresting and it shouldn’t be so. There should be an area of valid excitement that comes from having faith ... Are you ready for a bush? If God suddenly breaks into your life and you see a phenomenon like that, are you ready for it? Is it in your thoughts at all, this whole process of divine intervention? Or is tomorrow going to be like today? Are we just going to go in a kind of hum-drum existence, or do we have the biblical right to expect that God has historically engaged in a process of divine intervention that gives us hope?".

It seems that religion reacts to God not seeming to be very active by responding with a theology that He has withdrawn into heaven, given us the Word of God in a book and our next expectation of Him intervening is at the 2nd Coming. But that isn't building a theology on the Word of God! It is building a theology on our experience or lack of experience of the manifest Presence of God!

I must admit candidly that I don't have a personal testimony of many awesome manifestations of the Presence of God. But I have striven through my life so far to let my faith be fired by reading of encounters - and hungering after it. Of continually hoping for "MORE" rather than settling for "less". During the sermon Ern Baxter gave a real-life account of a time when he was with William Branham - here it is;

"I remember when I was in South Africa many years ago travelling with William Branham. We were going through a time of bitter persecution by the Dutch Reformed Church plus the press. Thousands of people were coming to the meetings in South Africa and it was stirring. And he and I were alone one night holding our case before God. Suddenly I was aware of a Presence. Now I know the Presence of the Holy Spirit and I wasn’t getting the same registration. Brother Branham said in his very quiet way, “Brother Ern – don’t be frightened. The angel of the Lord is in the room”.

Well he didn’t have to tell me. The next night, still under persecution, a Dutch Reformed minister who was bitterly opposed to us, was on his way home and he felt a hand on his shoulder. There was no one around him and he couldn’t understand it so he hurried home. It was a warm night and he had just been wearing a white shirt. He took his shirt off and looked at the back of it and a print of a hand was burned into the back of it".

Wow! This makes me so hungry - not for experience. The Charismatic Movement was roundly criticised by critic cessationists for chasing after "experiences". That may have been true in cases. But I would say in my experience - most are hungry just for the Presence of God! For God Himself! For the glory! Ern Baxter went on;

"I’m asking you this morning to do is open your heart to expect God to do something else that is going to be of such a nature as you hadn’t thought about before. How many would have believed the Pentecostal visitation at the turn of the century? How many would have believed the Charismatic visitation? In our own century we have had such divine manifestation that is unprecedented and exciting. God is not dead! He’s alive! If there’s any charge of death, it belongs here. We are dull of hearing. We are unexciting! We are unresponsive to the divine activity".

Surely that is why church is having relatively little impact upon the lost. Because we have no expectation - no hunger for divine activity. Before I close with a prayer by Dr Ern Baxter, let me quote from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his monumental; "Joy Unspeakable";

"Certain men you will find become concerned and disturbed and unhappy and they say; "What we need is another baptism with the Holy Spirit, we must seek the face of God". They do everything they can; they repent and render obedience, they try to go on walking a life of faith, a life of surrender to the Spirit and they do so genuinely. But nothing happens. And they go on and on like that and are almost at the point of despair, when SUDDENLY something HAPPENS! Often when they least expect it. When they are on the verge of utter despair, suddenly on the assembled company, the Holy Spirit falls again".

It is not just Ern Baxter or the charismatics who believed and taught in a "suddenly from heaven!". Dr Lloyd-Jones saw it clearly in the book of Acts also. Here is Ern Baxter's closing prayer and it is the cry of my heart;

"God I’m a candidate for a surprise! I can’t make it happen. God I deplore the pornography, the sexual perversion, the permissiveness in society! I deplore it God! But unless you rend the heavens and come down and I’m saying to you this morning, God I’m not going to lift a carnal finger to make a good meeting – I will worship you and keep my spirit open but I won’t simulate a prophecy and I won’t manufacture a healing. But God – here we stand. Our eyes are upon you! God this morning our eyes are on you! We’re not match for international problems – we’re no match for this thing or that. As far as the world is concerned they walk right past our door. They don’t hate us! We don’t even deserve their hatred. They ignore us. If they hated us it would mean that we drew their attention but they don’t hate us because they don’t even know we’re here.

And God there is no way we are going to try and make it happen. We’re not going to go out and confront them on the street – no we don’t want that Lord! But oh! Rend the heavens and come down! Visit this vine which Thou hast planted! This is Your people Lord! You said you’d prune and visit and water them! You said you’d make them flourish and make them grow! And God we want to open our hearts to that element of surprise that has characterised You from that moment when You spoke worlds into existence right down to the time when you incarnated Yourself in the virgin womb of a peasant girl! Right down to that time when You came into our lives with such an impact of Your glory that we didn’t expect. Do it again Lord! Do it again!"

And as if in confirmation as I was writing this post - a personal prophecy has come to me from a respected Newfrontiers prophet. He didn't know my personal circumstances and couldn't know. The "secrets of my heart" have been revealed. I think the surprise may be coming! And it can't come soon enough.

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.

Indescribable!!

The video says it all! This is another awesome worship video from Grapevine Bible Week held in Lincoln, UK. It makes me so utterly hungry for such worship!

"Love the Church: Lyrics of love" - Dave Bish

Following on from yesterday's Spurgeon sermon, I was thrilled to hear from Dave Bish - the well-known Bluefish blogger. He and I have shared thoughts on the Song of Solomon for some time now and he's encouraged me many times on his insights on this beautiful book of the Bible.

Dave spoke on the Song of Songs to his UCCF team recently. Here is the link to the notes from the session:

"Love the Church - Lyrics of Love".

Dave accurately sums up the two positions on how to view the Song;

"There are two broad camps of understanding about The Song. Those who say it is about marriage – as it appears at first reading, and those who say it is about Christ and the church, as I’m going to argue. Of course it is both, but which we give priority really effects how we proceed".

That last point is key to my whole understand of this book. I don't have a problem with married couples reading and learning from the love expressed in the Song of Solomon. What a better model to follow? But I do believe that if Christ and His church is isolated from this book (as per Driscoll/Mahaney etc) then a substandard love will result both for Christ in worship and indeed in marriage. As Dave says - what we give priority to will effect how we proceed.

Dave responds to Mark Driscoll's "icky" dislike of seeing corporate love in the Book by reminding us:

"Driscoll’s key argument is that it’s just too icky if this is about “Jesus and me”, I agree but whilst its true that Jesus gave himself up in love for me, we also know “Jesus gave himself up for the church” – and that a corporate reading is more the norm in Scripture. The bride is not individual believers but the church as a whole. Us not me, our husband not my husband".

He then splits the Song of Solomon up very helpfully by "tracks" of lyrics;


Track 1 (1:1-2:7) - Delights.


Track 2 (2:8-3:5) – Desire.


Track 3 (3:6-5:1) – Wedding.

"I find myself thinking – if he loves the church like this I want to know that love, to be found in the church and feel this love by the Spirit. To know his love as Ruth experiences the LORD’s love through Boaz. That means being found among God’s people not being alone. I am not his bride, the church is – it is the church whom he loves like this".

Track 4. The fourth song (5:2-6:1) – Loss


Track 5 (6:2-8:4) – Grace


Track 6. (8:5-8:14)- Home

Dave concludes wonderfully;

"This brief overview is designed not entirely to convince you to read the Song as about Christ and the church but to tug on your heart to love the bigger story of Christ and the church. To want to be found in her to know his love for her, and to grow with the church to love him as she does".

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.

It's Better to Receive Than Give ...

This post was generated by a comment that my friend Julie Morris - the grace champion - sent me on Facebook. I was feeling pretty grotty and miserable. I've had a week where I've leant loads of money to people and just generally felt used and abused. So very much in the flesh, I wrote my status as saying something rather grumpy like "whoever said it's better to give than receive obviously never gave!". But Julie brought it back to God and all day I've been thinking as to actually is the proverb; "It is better to give than receieve" - an Old Covenant statement?

Is the essence of the New Covenant that God wants us to realise that actually it's more blessed to RECEIVE (from Him) than to try and give to Him?

All day I've been thinking about the Cross. And all the brilliant Cross-centred quotes I've heard have been going through my head. Here's a few;

"Love constrained the Son of God to go to the Cross" - John Hosier

"What is the obvious clear message of what happened on the Cross? Simply this - that Jesus was crushed so that God would never crush you. Jesus was pierced so that God will never ever pierce you with sorrows or with sickness or with poverty. Jesus was punished so it is a guarantee that God will never ever punish you! Jesus was made a guilt offering by God so you will never feel guilty" - Rob Rufus

"Paul gloried in the ‘old rugged’ cross not in nostalgic reflection but in triumph and glorious emancipation" - Terry Virgo

Everything that happened - everything Christ did on the Cross was for US. Why does Christianity persist in refusing to accept that? Why has law so successfully ingrained in us that we somehow have to "pay God back"? I wonder why Jesus spoke in the Gospels about "becoming like children". The funny thing about children is that they never have any trouble receiving gifts. Just watching my beautiful nieces and nephews at Christmas proves that! The smiles that light up their faces just does something right inside me when they rip open the paper!

I was driving back from work listening to CCK Brighton's latest wonderful album; "Have You Heard" and the most heavenly song by Paul Oakley and Lex Loizides hit me like an Exocet missile. Funnily enough Julie's latest post bemoaned the lack of true grace songs. I think this beautiful song - "This is for Me" - will fit the requirements Julie! I can't urge you enough to get this album and listen to this song again and again. Even better CCK have made this particular track available free off their website.

Here's the words;

"How can I resist, this love that draws my heart,

This Voice that calls my name, I'll never be the same again,

And how could I deny, this King who took my place,

The One who bore my shame, I run into these arms of grace;

How can I refuse? I choose to follow You!

This is for me, this blood of Christ, washing all my stains,

Breaking all my chains! This is for me! This death He died,

Taking all my sin - giving me a chance to live again.

I choose to follow You! You gave Your life for me - I choose to follow You!

Jesus I believe".

I remember when I was in my home church in Dunstable a number of us wanted to see Darlene Zschech's song; "My Jesus, My Saviour". The elders (rapidly becoming anti-charismatic at the time) wouldn't allow it to be song because it was "too personal". Sadly they missed the whole point. The whole point of the Gospel. The whole point of everything. Another line in the same CCK album by Stuart Townend and Keith and Kristyn Getty says;

"Creation gazed upon His face, the ageless One in time's embrace.

Unveiled the Father's plan of reconciling God to man".

I wonder still on Julie's post whether the reason why there are so few "grace" worship songs is because the church has embraced the "debtor's ethic" worldwide and is suspicious of any songs that sing of our feelings and our emotions that are evoked at the wonder of the Gospel. Maybe song-writers and theologians need to learn how to become like children again and learn;

The joy of receiving.

My Favourite Worship Leader Ever!!

I was thrilled to find this morning a clip from an interview with the amazing Kate Simmonds. She probably was the person I missed not going to Brighton this year! Why am I such a fan? Because she unfailingly has led me into the Presence of God every time I have been in a meeting where she is leading. Whether it was in the conference hall at Brighton or at Stoneleigh or at Church of Christ the King - everytime. And I think she does it because she is a worshipper first and foremost. You can see it is pretty irrelevant to her about being on a stage - her heart is simply to lead people into God's Presence and when you look at her and see she is already in God's Presence, then it creates a thirst to follow quickly behind and not miss out!

I've been unfortunately in some meetings where some (mostly male) worship leaders dominate the proceedings and make it all about them. They don't like being interupted even if God shows up and one in particular would look irritated if someone came to the microphone wanting to bring a prophecy or a tongue! Kate couldn't be further from that. I will never forget her leading at "Together on a Mission" 2007 when Rob Rufus was causing all sorts of chaos! Correction - God through Rob Rufus was causing all sorts of chaos! She loved it. You could see she didn't know what was happening but her God was present and that was all that matters.

My heart's desire is to get to go to Sydney one day soon and visit the church there where Peter Brookes is leading (another hero of mine!) and split my time somehow between Kate Simmonds, Darlene Zschech and Hillsongs and of course the wonderful Fini and Isi de Gersigny! What a blessed city! So here's the video clip;



This particular quote really stuck with me;

"How I would love to be remembered is ... as someone who loved God, loved people and help people know that they were loved".

Ryan Rufus's latest awesome book; "Sanctification by Grace" was so important in that respect because I believe the same passion grips his heart as Kate's. He wants to help people know that they are loved. And I think that is something that has become increasingly a burden to me. I've been in too many churches now for my liking where the leadership are too often focused on telling you that God is angry with you, that God is judging and watching you. How many like me remember the kind of poems our well-meaning parents would repeat to us? They often had a line like;

"And when we're good it pleases Jesus".

The unspoken implication being; "If you are bad then it makes Jesus angry and He'll 'get' you". Surely the cruelest thing that a church leader can ever do is to use threats such as; "We are casting you out to Satan". How far is that from the prodigal son account? The father who was watching anxiously for his son's return and came running down the road eagerly on his approach. I wonder how many church leaders would come running down the road if prodigals returned to church. My conviction is that many prodigals won't ever darken some church doors again because they are too scared about what will happen if they do. Even I - who have been in Christian and church life for 30 years - wouldn't go to some churches ever again.

No - I love this vision that is expressed by both Kate Simmonds and Ryan Rufus. To help people know that they are loved. What a thing to be remembered for!

Dave Bish on the Song of Solomon

Dave has written an excellent post recently that thanks to Twitter I noticed. He interacts with Tom Gledhill, author of the BST Song of Songs and the article on it in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology and Gledhill's views on this beautiful book. Gledhill follows (or maybe is to blame) for Mahaney, Driscoll et all and states;

"... there is some biblical justification for a moderate typological approach. But the danger of this hermeneutic is that of thinking that the relationship between the believer and God is highly emotional or even erotic".

He then goes on to state that it is "safer" to "the straightfoward and explicit admonitions of the NT". Dave responds;

"So Gledhill says a moderate typology is fine, but we're to abandon it because:

a) we might take it too far, but can we not restrain ourselves? And what if we permit ourselves to ask whether a less cautious hermeneutic might be fruitful? I'm not saying be wreckless, but let's not run scared. Sounds like an argument for abstinence from alcohol for risk of drunkeness...

b) the NT gives us 'straightfoward' words but Matthew Henry suggests: "when the meaning is found out, it will be of admirable use to excite pious and devout affections in us; and the same truths which are plainly laid down in other scriptures when they are extracted out of this come to the soul with a more pleasing power" Can we not have poetic theology?

c) it's prone to excessive allegoratization, but it's ok for Mark Driscoll to follow Gledhill's lead and interpret the foxes as sexual temptation? Excesses all round I guess, but might we miss some of the riches if we pass over details?I appreciate there are dangers, but I think Gledhill over reacts. Given he concedes there is some basis for this typological approach it seems a shame to throw away the opportunity for this book to testify about Christ and the church for fear of getting carried away with it. I accept it's possible to over-read the text, but perhaps we're more likely to under-read it...".

I don't think I need add anything to this outstanding rebuttal. Once again the danger of no use because of overuse - when rather we should be holding to right use. Fantastically written and I urge you to follow Dave's blog and his teaching.

Arrogant or Intimate?!

I am hugely enjoying living with Kathryn Kuhlman at the moment. Traditionally my background is Reformed/Charismatic and very definately complimentarian where women preachers and teachers are viewed with suspicion as exceeding their authority. But having heard Rob Rufus speak so highly of Kathryn Kuhlman - I have been on the lookout for a good biography of her hence have been enjoying Jamie Buckingham's "Daughter of Destiny - The Only Authorised Biography of Kathryn Kuhlman" and my resulting thought here why some don't get healed.

Last night I read this incident. Pastors were trying to pressurise Kathryn Kuhlman into having counsellor-follow-up at her ministry meetings and when they found they couldn't control her, they began withdrawing support. Buckingham wrote this;

"As a parting shot, Dr Farah wrote Kathryn four pages of caustic advice. She blew up. "I have to do it my way" she blazed at Ralph Wilkerson. "I am the only one who knows the direction of the Holy Spirit in those miracle services".

At first when I read that I was a bit taken aback. But the more I read it and thought about it, the more amazed I was. What a claim! What if we lay aside our cynicism for a minute and believe that. What if she walked in such intimacy with the Holy Spirit and was so fiercly protective of Him being quenched that she could say such a thing? And then of course I applied it to myself - could I even come close to saying that? Any church or conference meetings I go to - could I say I know the direction of the Holy Spirit?

Ern Baxter used to describe it as an eagle hovering in mid-air waiting for a warm updraft of air and then when you catch it, soaring high. I personally am inclined to believe that Kathryn Kuhlman was a pioneer walking in such sensitivity with the Holy Spirit that she did know the direction He wanted to go. She had maybe no theological skills to speak of (according to her biographer) but she knew what the most important Person in that room wanted and wanted to follow Him at all costs. How about us?

How Hungry Do I Have to Get?

I sat mesmerised watching this fantastic singer on "America's Got Talent";



And in particular I was grabbed by something he said;

"How hungry do I have to get to really start getting somewhere?".

Hunger. A feeling experienced when one has a desire (usually to eat). The feeling pre-supposes the fact that there is something or someone available to fulfill that desire. What is tragic is that although there is enough food in the world to feed everyone - On the average, a person dies every second as a result of starvation. The body is physiologically conditioned to actually cause pain and discomfort with hunger! It's probably why so many people on diets are miserable!

Hunger is meant to drive us to seek that fulfillment. So if the feeling of hunger for God and more of His Presence pre-supposes the fact that He wants to fulfill that desire then we have two choices when the hunger grows more and more;

1. We can continue to ignore the pains and agonies of hunger and become bitter and cynical and develop a theology of the omnipresence of God but just settle for that and that alone.

2. We can allow the hunger to drive us and drive us to seek Him and find Him when we search for Him with all our hearts and He WILL be found by us!

I think that's why I love watching reality TV shows like "America's Got Talent" and "X-Factor". I love, love, love watching people's hunger for their dreams being fulfilled. Sadly those dreams won't last. Fame is momentary. But we surely are in the best possible position ever - the manifest Presence of God on our lives and with us and walking with us will never fade and it is better than any drug high, any alcohol high, any sexual high. So at times over these past few weeks I've wished the pains would go away but they are pointing to a need!

Fresh oil - His Presence - that is all I ever need!

Sam Storms on Resisting Temptations

I was just sorting through my bookshelves and found some prayer journals when I used to rather legalistically read the Bible and pray and fast in an attempt to gain some blessing from God. It was sobering to read the endless cycle of despair, hope, despair and hope. It made me realise how much grace has freed me from burdens! But I found this excellent quote of Sam Storms on Friday 2nd March 2001;

"The decision to say "No" to sin must itself be energised by the assurance of delight in an alternative "Yes" - the only way to fight the seductive power of one pleasure is with a greater pleasure - a more pleasing pleasure, the pleasure that comes from falling in love with Jesus!".

I think it was from his marvellous book; "Pleasures Evermore: Life-Changing Power of Enjoying God". Surely again here is the great connection with the Song of Solomon and the amazing truths it has to teach us about the passionate love of the Father for us. How can we ever even hope to find that superior pleasure that will triumph over sin if we will not receive His love?

Answer to Counterfeit? Intimacy!!

I was going to write quite an empassioned post about something that's been on my heart for some time. And that will come - maybe tomorrow.

But I have come back from the most amazing lunch with Ursula - a fellow blogger I met for the first time today. Whooooo ... what to say about Ursula?! We hit it off straight away - as soon as we hugged I felt the fire vibrating through this anointed servant of God. It certainly didn't feel like a first meeting in person! I felt completely at one in spirit and felt like she's going to be someone I'm seeing a lot of! We didn't stop talking from start to finish and I loved the fact that she did most of the talking. That was mainly at my design - I was there to learn and hear all about "Grace and Glory 2009" and more importantly about her encounters with God.

As I was driving home listening to the new City Church International worship album that Ursula had kindly brought for me (I LOVE souvenirs from Hong Kong!!) a lot of thoughts were flying round in my head. The first was a longing for encounters and experiences with God like she had. The second was a weary tiredness with "fear of the counterfeit" and getting it "right" that has been drummed into me since childhood. What has such fear produced? I mean really? Has such an obsession with right theology produced increased conversions or increased signs, wonders and miracles?

I was reminded of something that Rob Rufus said at "Glory and Grace" in 2007 when I was there;

"Paul said in Galatians, 'I am shocked that you are so quickly leaving the true gospel and going after another gospel that is no gospel at all' ... it is a false gospel and a legalistic gospel ... I want to say, Rob Rufus wants to say, I am astonished at the fear and paranoia amongst Christians about being deceived by false signs and wonders. I want to say - you either need to get saved (because you can't be saved if you are that frightened) or as a Christian realise that every counterfeit is easy to discern.

It takes you away from Jesus but true signs and wonders take you closer to Jesus. How can you NOT discern the difference?! How can you be so dumb and still breathe? I know Him! I know His secret ways! I know His smell! I know His voice and tone! Nothing could counterfeit Glenda to me - unless I didn't know her very well! Nothing can counterfeit the Holy Spirit to me! I have known Him for 30 years and you can be one day old in the Lord and a one day convert and you can meet the Holy Spirit - any other spirit will dishonour Jesus and point to man! It will exalt man and flesh!

This fear - "Oh in the last days we are going to be deceived!". No - those who don't know their God will be deceived but Daniel says those that know their God will do mighty signs and wonders! I am convinced there are Christians that don't know God - they are strangers to God! They have got head knowledge and full of theology about God but have never met Him! They don't know Him! When He turns up in a meeting and is moving by His power - they stand there looking around saying "What is this?". This is THAT which was the prophet Joel spoke about; "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh! Your sons and daughters will prophesy!".

These are not days to be wondering "Is this God or not?". You should know within seconds. When banktellers are trained how to recognise the counterfeit notes, they don't spend ages handling counterfeit to recognise counterfeit currency. They give them hours of training just passing the genuine through their fingers. They become so familiar with the genuine that the moment a counterfeit passes through - they recognise it immediately! Don't worry about the counterfeit - get so close to the genuine Holy Spirit and then you will know immediately a demon spirit or a new age spirit!".

You may have felt that I was banging my drum about the Song of Solomon unnecessarily. I've written quite a few posts about it now I just realised!

It all started with "If It's New it Probably Isn't True" - A Response to C J Mahaney's View on the Song of Solomon". It had never even entered my head that people could and would believe that a book of the sacred Word of God could be simply a glorified sex manual for married couples. I didn't appreciate C J Mahaney mocking that view very much!

When last month a series of posts on the Song of Songs was prompted by a chat with my Dad.

What Song of Solomon Has to Teach Us!! - It's no good just being negative about the view you don't like.

When John MacArthur Gets It Right!! - MacArthur takes toilet-mouth Mark Driscoll to task (even though they have the same views on Song of Songs).

When Rob Rufus Gets It Right!! - Rob Rufus addressed Song of Songs and made his views clear in a prayer at "Grace and Glory".

Dr Peter Masters is Right!! - Another uber-conservative, Reformed scholar and cessationist teaches accurately and powerfully on what the Song of Solomon has to say to us.

So why? What's the connection?

Well if the Song of Solomon is an accurate representation of the passionate, intimate love that God has for us and the response that can evoke in us then here is the clue to not having to fear deception and the counterfeit. Learn about the true intimacy we can find in Jesus Christ and we will never mistake Him for a demon! Ever! I don't think the answer is to be found in endless theology textbook after textbook anymore. I used to. But I suddenly saw the Bible warns clearly against this too;

"Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these".

Avoid them! So as an expression of such intimacy I want to post Ursula's wonderful encounter and journey into heaven and her meeting with Jesus Himself (during the Sydney Glory and Grace Conference). In the past I might have probably tutted and headed for the theology textbooks to check out if it was "right". Now I hunger after such encounters. I long to know His manifest love!;

"I was in the middle of this huge field and Jesus was standing next to me. We went for a walk – and I was just telling Him how much I love Him – we only got about 5 steps – and He turned and hugged me. My arms were around His neck and His arms were around my middle and He was holding me tight. He swung me around and around and I could only bury my neck in His neck and revel in this love He had for me.

Eventually, Jesus put me down and still with our arms around each other we walked on. But we only got about 3 steps and suddenly it was like He couldn’t contain Himself and I was in His arms again swinging. He was laughing and crying and there was just so much love for me and I was totally undone by it. My heart felt like it was expanding till it was going to burst. The more we swung the deeper His love was, the deeper we fell in love and I was just whispering “I love you, I love you, I love you…I just want to fall in love more and more with you…” I was just totally overwhelmed by His incredible, totally indescribable love for me".

Do you know what I realised? The Song of Solomon teaches us that while marriage is indeed wonderful, we don't have to wait for it to encounter this wonderful intimate love. It doesn't begin at marriage! Sure Ursula is right;

"When both of our eyes are on His eyes, on Him, when He is our first love, the intensity of the love for Him actually multiplies because the two of us become one…and our love for Him together is stronger than just one of our loves…and that in the spiritual realm, that doesn’t just double, but multiplies over and over and over".

But Paul said it is BETTER that some remain single for a reason! And why would it be better if single celibate people missed out on this joyful intimate love? The answer is that we can experience this here and now with Jesus Christ - the risen and exalted Lord Himself. Here! Now! And that is the best defence against the counterfeit.

When Rob Rufus Gets It Right!!

There have been some really awesome comments on my previous post; "When John MacArthur Gets It Right!" - which I'm so grateful for. I think we all appreciated my non-Christian friend's input and frankness! All Christian husbands need to never, ever forget that sexual intimacy means that wives should be enjoying it too! But I carried the conversation on at home with my mum and dad when I met them for coffee yesterday. It's something I really love and appreciate about Mum and Dad - they are willing to listen to whatever's on my heart. The benefit of discussing this Driscoll/Song of Solomon thing is that I've come to appreciate how important Christian married couples long for some Biblical teaching and input on their intimate lives.

But I think Sheila makes a vital point too - we don't need schoolboy toilet (or bathroom) humour or language to get that point across. And while I am sure Mark Driscoll is an incredibly unique person - his behaviour doesn't necessarily have to be prescriptive to try and emulate the kind of success God is giving him at the moment. My heart still is for Christian women - sisters in Christ. And so I was thrilled driving back from Bristol to be reminded of something Rob Rufus said in a prayer at "Glory and Grace" when I was there in 2007.

Here's what he said - and it's absolutely on-topic. One might have thought he knew of the debate!

"The Bible in Song of Solomon and many other places talks about us being the Bride and being loved and ravished by heavenly romance with a Bridegroom that is so in love with us! Your love is better than wine. Come away with Me, My beloved!

Forgive us for taking the culture of the world as men - Lord! So afraid of intimacy. So afraid of closeness. So afraid of emotion. We thank You for the example of David - Lord. A real man, a masculine man, a warrior, a mighty warrior! A man who killed many people in battle, a great warrior in the army of Israel! A king! Yet a sensative, tender poet. A romantic. A lover! A tender-hearted man!

Oh give us men like that in the world today! Warriors who will stand up and fight yet know tenderness and intimacy! Jesus the Son of God who stood against the most evil force on the planet - religious demons behind Pharisees - and He stood against them alone and would not buckle under their intimidation or pressure. What a man! Yet He could stand before Lazarus's tomb and weep and shed tears and say "Let the little children come to Me for such is the Kingdom of heaven".

Jesus who could look at a woman caught in adultery and say "Woman where are your accusers? Neither do I accuse you". Such tenderness in this Man! Jesus of Nazareth! Fully God and fully Man! Weeping with compassion! Showing such kindness! But even on the Cross and dying for our sins, He looks down at John and said; "John behold your mother" - pointing at Mary. Thinking about His MOTHER! While He is on the Cross He is still wanting to make sure His earthly mother is looked after by His disciple John - the man He loved!

What kind of Man is this?! So full of masculinity and male authority yet so tender and intimate. He let John the apostle put his head on His chest at the Last Supper and was not embarressed by the contact of a physical man touching His chest in public - so innocent and pure. What happened to the church? This Bridegroom does not need our love but He desires it with a passion!".

I think that last point for me answers one of Driscoll's most distressing comments where he mocks those who see certain allegories in the Song of Solomon and says;

"Well the allegorical interpretation, it's not between a husband and a wife, Song of Solomon, love and romance and intimacy; what it is, it's about us and Jesus." Really? I hope not. [Laughter from crowd] If I get to heaven and this goes down, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I mean it's gonna be a bad day. Right? I mean seriously. You dudes know what I'm talking about. You're like, "No, I'm not doing that. You know I'm not doing that. I love Him [Jesus] but not like that." [Laughter from crowd]"

Whether it was meant as a joke or not (and an extremely bad one if it was) - the fact remains that Jesus Christ the Man had absolutely no problem in loving one of His disciples and welcoming His disciple's love and longing for closeness in absolute innocence and purity. I must confess one of the thoughts that has most often gone through my head when I first lay eyes on the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ for the first time is a longing that I will be able to run into His arms and do the same thing. Let's recover that innocence and purity. As Rob Rufus said;

"What's happened to the Church?".

Speak Tenderly To My Bride ...

"You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes" - Song of Solomon 4:9

I've just come back from a lovely evening with a small part of my family - Mum, Dad and my three younger sisters. The object of my trip was to collect my laptop that I left there during Easter - hence a small break in transcribing! We enjoyed a KFC and some fascinating conversation. I've noticed that whenever I spend time with the women in my life whom I love and adore, I always come back feeling extremely protective towards them. I think that's why God hasn't let me get married actually. If I did get married, chances are that I would become over-protective towards my wife and maybe over-idolise them. At the present I am so blessed to have six sisters and countless "adopted" sisters in Christ!

As I was driving back I was listening to Isi de Gersigny's first session at "Glory and Grace 2007" and forgot totally that during the ministry time Fini led a time of blessing to the women at the conference. I understand he did the same thing at "Glory and Grace" this year too.

And I got thinking. Why does it drive me so absolutely crazy with anger when I hear about a church pastor manipulating and abusing one of my sisters? Why does it drive me crazy when I hear men teaching and preaching and instructing women what they should be doing externally to allegedly please God - such as what to wear? Why are women being forcibly subdued in church and being prevented from moving into powerful ministry because they're expected to "submit" - while their male counterparts aren't loving them "as Christ loved the church"?

I think a balance needs to be struck here. I've always reacted against the chauvinistic call to "manhood" trumpeted by men like C J Mahaney and Mark Driscoll. Comments like "real" men shouldn't have any fashion sense and Driscoll's more unspeakable ideas on what "real" men should be doing to their wives sicken me to my stomach quite frankly. But I heard Rob Rufus speak recently on the need for "real" men and it made me re-think my hasty angry conclusions! I know - many may say how come Rob can make you re-think when the other two can't? Well because Rob has demonstrated in his life that he's a man's man (enjoying running very fast!) - but can also unashamedly weep, express his love for Glenda and other things that "men's men" don't seem too good at. Men need to get this balance. It's desperate! And the answer doesn't lie in endless courses and "marriage specialists". It lies in a true grasp of the Gospel.

Nothing makes me rejoice more than seeing women released in ministry and setting the church ablaze. Some of my heroes are Kate Simmonds, Darlene Zschech, Isi de Gersigny, Glenda Rufus, Wendy Virgo, Julie, Lydia, Ursula, Nick and Sheila! And on behalf of my gender I want to apologise to women for the hurt and pain that men may have inflicted on women. Especially Christian women. I'm so so sorry beyond words for the emotional, physical and sexual abuse that may have been inflicted in the name of "submission". I know that God's heart couldn't be further from that.

And I listened and learnt a new song at home on a CD - from the amazing Hillsongs. It's called "At the Cross" and I found the video on You-Tube and was mesmerised by the women worshipping as they sing it. I think in worship women almost look like angels lost in the glory realm - so I post this and dedicate to every Christian sister reading this. May today you know the love and intimacy of the true and best spiritual Husband ever! Who will NEVER abuse you! Who will NEVER point out your faults or flaws! Who will NEVER do anything but adore you and delight in you and wonder in you and excite over you!



Tomorrow .... a first. I agree with John Macarthur! :-o (that's an emoticon btw!)

No More Rain!!

I've been thinking a lot over the last 24 hours about Julie's wonderful post; "How To Love God, and Kim Walker, I Sing My Love". Worship songs are of such importance - they fashion our theology without almost realising. So if we are singing songs that have an Old Covenant emphasis and are subconciously putting us into the "Debtors Ethic" without even hearing a sermon. Julie sums it up so simply (and in almost complete contrast to the definition of the debtors ethic);

"God is love. When we are in Him, we love. When we believe in Jesus, we receive His love and then we have love to give. Ahhh, the simplicity! So who of God's sons doesn't love to sing back in response to our father how much we love him? Once we have freely received his love for us, have experienced it, then we are free to love him back! If we try to love him under law, we will fail miserably and will not please His heart. We don't love God because we were commanded to but because he loved us first and our new nature was born to love him back!"

I'm amazed that I still have a small element of fear of what people will say on this blog - I should be well past that, I've surely burnt my bridges! So here goes - yes God seems to speak to me through computer games, at the gym and through pop songs. If that disqualifies me in your view - then I can deal with that! Kylie Minogue's song; "No More Rain" has been doing exactly that. She wrote it as an expression of gratefulness after recovering from cancer.

And here's what occured to me in listening to the lyrics ... oh that this would be more reflected in some of our songs of worship! So here's the lyrics of the song and here's my thoughts;

"Have you ever thought, that the sky was just endlessly dark?".

This must be the experience of most Christians. Prayers that get shouted, cried, screamed and yet bounced back seemingly unheard and unanswered. "The heavens are brass".

"And then you look up, and see a million stars".

See that's what the message of grace does. Nothing has changed except our perspective! Grace shows the stars shining! The God who DOES hear and DOES love!

"Have you ever been scared of the water, and stuck on the edge? And then you dive in, how quickly you forget your fears".

Surely it is fear that keeps so many back from throwing themselves into the true glory of the reality of grace. Fear of loss of control. Fear of sinning. But I can testify personally (as can many others) that once you even begin to taste the wonder of grace then the fear is so easily and so quickly gone. And it really is;

"Wave of love coming over me ... Got rainbow colours and no more rain".

Rainbow = a covenant of grace! God has taken an oath! A covenant! This is the Word of God! "For this is like the days of Noah to Me, when I swore that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again;

"So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you".

This is such good news! This is the best news ever! Yet something weird happened when I was thinking about the line;

"I’m on my knees".

I guess traditionally I've always thought of being on one's knees as a posture of praise and humility. A small gesture in response to all God has done for us. But I began to get a greater and greater sense of the thrill and excitement in heaven from the throneroom itself when God receives true worship coming from a heart TOTALLY free from any sense of a "debtors ethic". But a heart responding in just pure love and adoration for Who God is. Almost like He's been waiting for centuries to find a people who will be set free from feeling "obliged" to worship Him and try and whip up their worship by "reviewing" how sinful they are/were. And when it happens - when a people truly get set free by grace - (dare I say this reverently) - but He falls on His knees with pure thrill!

Well why not? Zephaniah 3:17 comes close;

"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy".

Or as Terry Virgo put it;

"I once looked up ‘delight' in the dictionary. It said ‘great pleasure and satisfaction'. But I wasn't satisfied with that, so I searched for it in a thesaurus. This is what I found: ‘laugh, smile, get a kick out of, hug oneself, rave, bask in, enjoy, wallow, have fun, exhilarate, relish, elate, thrill, ravish, intoxicate, entrance, enrapture, purr.' Isn't that wonderful? When God looks at you he purrs with delight!".

As Julie put it - we love Him because He first loved us.

And how will our love ever begin to approach His pure, beautiful wonderful love as long as we are constrained by thinking we can ever repay Him at all? No - our joy is to learn more about His love, bask more in His love, receive more of His love and then and only then will we be able to start loving like He.

What Song of Solomon Has to Teach Us!!

One of the fascinating conversations I had on my recent visit to Bristol to see my dad was regarding one of our favourite books in the Bible - the Song of Solomon. It was provoked because I brought him C H Spurgeon's sermons on this wonderful book entitled; "The Most Holy Place". I've argued before what my position is on this glorious book - so don't need to repeat that at length. Suffice to say that I couldn't be further removed from C J Mahaney's odd views and tend to stand in the more traditional historical view that first and foremost this book (like Christian marriage) is a picture of Christ and His Bride - the Church.

What my dad and I were discussing and unpacking was what teaching a biblical approach to this book can and will do for the Church. Some of the historical divines said this of the Song of Solomon:

"This is spoken in the person of the Church, or of the faithful soul inflamed with the desire of Christ, whom she loves". (from the Geneva 1599 Bible Notes)

"It treats of Christ and his Church, in their most glorious, lively, and lovely actions, to wit, his care of, and his love unto his Church, and that in its most eminent degree; and also, of her love to him". - James Durham (1622 Puritan) who incidentally C H Spurgeon described as "that master of masters".

On Song of Solomon 2:1 - "If these are the words of the Well-beloved,—and I have no doubt that they are —then it may be suggested by some that here we have the Savior praising himself; and it is true; but in no unworthy sense, for well may he praise himself since no one else can do it as it should be done" - C H Spurgeon.

And finally the great Jonathan Edwards said;

"The name by which Solomon calls this song confirms to me that it is more than an ordinary love song and that it was designed for a divine song and of divine authority for we read in 1 Kings 4:32 that Solomon's songs were "a thousand and five". This he called the "Song of songs". That is the most excellent of his songs ... because it was a song of the most excellent subject treating of the love, union and communion between Christ and His spouse of which marriage and conjugal love was but a shadow. These are the most excellent lovers and their love the most excellent love".

More recently theological scholars have said:

"The Song is more than a canonical sex manual as some recent treatments have implied" - Tremper Longman.

So what does holding this biblical view do for our Christian lives?

1. It Increases Affections for God.

As a single man I confess I have tried reading the Song of Solomon with Mahaney's interpretation in mind and I have felt nothing than a grudging resentment that I am not married. Whereas when you allow the Spirit-inspired words that are "profitable for teaching" to sink into your heart then they cannot help but provoke feelings of awe and wonder. For example;

"Your love is better than wine, your oils have a pleasing fragrance, your Name is like purified oil ...".

And then the Bridegroom Himself actually speaks ... to us! To me!

"To Me, My darling ...". (GOD calls ME darling!?!?). "Your cheeks are lovely ... My beloved ... My beloved ... how beautiful you are My darling! How beautiful you are!".

How can we but respond?

2. It inflames Worship to God.

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I'm not sure you can sing a beautiful song like "Draw Me Close to You" (which is one among many songs of intimacy I love) without touching the passion of God for us. Pete Day's recent blog post is a vital foundational grace truth - that condemnation MUST be removed. Because while we tolerate condemnation in our lives then we never will quite believe that God is so passionately for us. How long should we bear guilt!? Not for a MOMENT! Why? Because once it's gone - our worship will rise like a fragrant incense!

Song of Solomon itself expresses something of the response that should be the Church's;

"Listen! My beloved! Behold He is coming! Climbing on the mountains! Leaping on the hills! ... My beloved is mine and I am His!"

And by contrast something of the heartache that should characterise us when His manifest Presence is not felt among us personally or corporately;

"I sought Him whom my soul loves; I sought Him but did not find Him, I must arise now and go about the city ... I must seek Him whom my soul loves".

3. It Revives Marriage between Husband and Wife.

Let me say again that I do applaud C J Mahaney's heart to infuse a God-honouring passion back into Christian marriages. I just wish he hadn't tried to impose his views to twist Scripture to try and back up what he was saying. That wasn't necessary. And I wouldn't limit Song of Solomon either to purely representing Christ and His Bride (as perhaps some of the Puritans tried). Because Christian marriage is meant to be a picture of Christ and His Bride - but it is that which will last for eternity!

For example Ephesians 5:31; "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church". And slightly earlier in Ephesians 5:22; "Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is also the head of the church, He Himself being the Saviour of the Body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be to their husbands in everything".

It's my observation as a single guy that most Christian men have stopped there in their theology and experience - nodding and agreeing with Wayne Grudem. But Sam Storms says quite rightly;

"Headship is a responsibility - not a right".

It is my conviction that if I were ever to be married - I would not dare try and expect my wife to submit until I had fulfilled the next verse;

"Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her ... so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself".

Maybe if more husbands loved their wives "as Christ" then it wouldn't be such a controversy expecting wives to "submit"!

So it's my prayer that the Song of Solomon is rightfully claimed back! I have to confess something - I've always hated a lot of "couples" teaching you hear that goes on in the Church. I will fully admit I am bitter and jealous of those who are married. What an awesome blessing! I would love to share my life with someone! And much of the teaching that you hear makes me ... frankly want to puke. I am sure they love each other but it doesn't help me being single hearing them wax eloquent. Oddly enough though since encountering Rob and Glenda Rufus I have benefited so much in gaining a more godly attitude about marriage. I love watching a couple who have been married faithfully for 30+ years - still totally in love with each other. I hope Rob and Glenda share some of their wisdom soon about marriage in book form.

On that note Rob Rufus spoke recently about the Song (and wonderfully he agrees with myself and most of church history!). It's an awesome place to finish my meandering thoughts - because it is a testimony of how the Song of Solomon (rightfully preached) saved 30 of his soldier collegues!

"I am a bit passionate about this! Here is the mystery of the Bridegroom and the Bride! I have deliberately left out some passages because some of you would blush. These passages were written by the Holy Spirit and you are not as holy as the Holy Spirit as He expresses intimacy and you can't handle it. In the military where atheists become Christians on the Angolan border, and they usually read pornography books - so one night I opened the Song of Solomon and they all usually want to borrow each others books. I put my candle on and I read the parts which I can't read to you because you are saved people. I read it to them because they were reading pornography so they could cope with it but you are Christians and you are holy and you can't! I didn't tell them it was the Bible and hid it below my sleeping bag! And they said; "Wow what book is that - can I read it after you?". I said "Yes it is the Bible!". I wish I had captured on video their faces! They said "No!". Suddenly they all wanted to read the Bible and they realised that the Bible had been mis-represented by Christians!

30 of those swearing blaspheming troops got saved and many of them are still going on with Christ today! I wasn't a Christian - I was a son! And I showed them that this is the mystery of God and His Bride! I told them "Don't go to church to check this out because you won't see it - you will see no passion or heavenly romance". Song of Solomon chapter 1:1;"Let him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth for your love is better than wine ... let him bring me into his chambers". That is the King to the Bride!

Go down to (v12); "My lover is to me ... how beautiful you are my darling oh how beautiful". Then the church says back; "How handsome you are my lover!". This is church - Sunday morning! "Oh how handsome you are". All through the week I have been encountering your love, all through the busy week I have been concious of heaven! 2:3; "Like an apple tree ... I delight to sit in His shade .. His banner over me is love". The prophetic word God spoke to us today! "I am faint with love". How many of you have felt FAINT with love for Jesus? "I charge you by the gazelles ... do not awaken love .... here He comes! (Jesus!) bounding over the hills ... Arise my darling!" - talking to the church!".