A Bit of History ...

I was interested to find the following blog and a comment left on it. The lady who wrote it was discussing the broader question as to what exactly is a charismatic, and a gentleman left a comment who has a great deal of interesting history to impart re: SGM - where they have come from and where they may be going. It's particularly interesting because he was in Covenant Life Church from before they even were. Well worth a read - please note, any emphases are mine that I have noted of particular interest:

"I was in C.J. Mahaney's home church (Covenant Life Church, nee Gathering of Believers 1978) from 1981-2000, and in its predecessor teaching-meeting, so maybe I can add something to this discussion.

CLC grew out of a full-blown charismatic teaching ministry called TAG (Take and Give) in the D.C. area, which ran from the mid-to-late 1970s. C.J. Mahaney and Larry Tomczak became the young teachers, as TAG outgrew Lydia Little's living room and moved from one school auditorium to another before maxing-out at over 2,000 participants & finding its Tuesday-night home at Christ Church on Mass. Ave. in Washington, DC.

Mahaney was a former high-school class clown, pothead and college dropout who was radically saved after being busted for possession of illegal substances. Tomczak, from an industrial immigrant family in Cleveland, had come to Washington DC with plans to become an AFL-CIO labor organizer. However, his life was changed after stumbling into a black church and being confronted about his spiritual condition by an elderly man. At TAG there was enthusiastic worship, a wide mix of people ranging from high-school hangers-on to all denominations of the churched, including Catholics (I saw some dancing nuns back in those days of joyful worship).

The Holy Spirit was present and did baptisms, healings and deliverances. There was excitement and tons of youthful energy. The centerpiece was the teaching, however, which was full of humor but focused on turning scriptural truth into real-life, everyday practice.CLC was started because Mahaney and Tomczak were being given truths by the Lord that are now taken for granted in much of US Christendom: emphases on belonging to and ministering through a local church of committed believers; small groups as the core unit of the church; family-oriented focus including practical teaching of the Christian roles of husband, wife and child; personal holiness and integrity among leaders and laity; discipleship and development of spiritual giftings, as pastors train the members to do the work of ministry, rather than doing everything themselves. The existing churches had no such vision, so a teaching fellowship turned into a church.

CLC and Terry Virgo's New Frontiers International have been close friends since those early days, with leaders visiting one another's churches and conferences, and input from the late Arthur Wallis another strong influence on both streams. As CLC became successful in the '80s at pursuing its vision, cassette tapes spread Mahaney and Tomczak's teaching literally around the world. People began coming to Maryland from around the USA to join CLC, which grew from a few hundred in the early 80s to over 2,000 around the year 2000. In the mid-to-late 80s, CLC started planting churches in other cities (Tomczak's Cleveland being the first), and some churches began joining the church-planting ministry, called People of Destiny International (PDI, now Sovereign Grace Ministries).

During this time, CLC and PDI began writing their own worship songs, filled with scripture-based themes, to reflect the movement's vision and understanding of the gospel. Though New Frontiers picked up on these songs, until just the last few years the rich & creative PDI music has been a hidden jewel.The transition from charismatic to Reformed was gradual but real, as Mahaney and the PDI leadership (Tomczak, Brent Detwiler, Steve Shank and others who were pastoring PDI churches) continued to develop their theology. Over the years, PDI rejected the prosperity gospel, the word-faith gospel, the therapeutic-faith gospel and other fads that tended to diminish the authority and holiness of God, the inherently sinful nature of man, and the individual's responsibility for his own actions and response to the gospel. By the early 90s, however, the Reformed element was beginning to kick in, with more emphasis on the Puritans' and Jonathan Edwards' teachings, and a sudden emphasis on the Puritan teaching of "indwelling sin" rather than a victorious, power-filled faith which had previously shaped the culture.

Also during this time, CLC became not only the home of the movement, but also the home of a new PDI pastors school to train pastors for current and future PDI churches. PDI also began publishing People of Destiny (now Sovereign Grace) magazine, and a series of small books on discipleship, small groups, and other topics. These publications got the movement's ideas known to even more people, leading to more growth in the PDI churches and more established churches' joining the movement.

As it grew, PDI's focus seemed always to be on the utterly practical, rather than on impressing anyone outside the movement. When questions needed to be answered regarding how to build a church building, how to organize children's ministry, etc., CLC pastors would visit other churches in other movements (Cho in Korea, Vineyard in Anaheim, CA, etc) to learn from the successful. It seemed that 20 years spent in obscurity, working out their message and methodology, made it possible to emerge in the last few years as something that suprised many people.

In the 90s came a chapter that I wonder if Sovereign Grace would even like to talk about today. In 1994, C.J. Mahaney visited a New Frontiers-related church in Missouri, which Terry Virgo was overseeing personally following a pastoral replacement. As Mahaney began to preach a sober message on the sad ending of Solomon's reign, "holy laughter" began to break out in the church. Mahaney could no longer continue speaking, as the entire congregation was hit with the same renewal that currently was underway in Toronto, and being dispensed by Rodney Howard-Browne. The renewal affected both NFI and PDI, and throughout 1994 renewal -- what PDI called "a time of refreshing" -- held sway at CLC and other PDI churches. The high-water mark came at the Memorial Day 1995 Celebration conference in Indiana, PA (theme "Passion for His Presence"). In addition to prolonged periods of worship before the main evening meetings -- punctuated by powerful prophetic songs -- personal ministry was done after one evening meeting. As at Toronto or other renewal spots, the Holy Spirit came in power, and bodies were on the floor by the hundreds as prayer ministry produced laughter, tears, shaking in most of thoese receiving prayer (including myself).

Though there was never any official public pronouncement given, it appeared that PDI began distancing itself from the Toronto-associated renewal after John Wimber expelled TAVC from the Vineyard in December 1995. While in 1994 and 1995 Mahaney was defending the renewal from its critics, including Hank Hanegraff, within a couple of years a PDI pastor, Craig Cabaniss, stated in a public debate that PDI had chosen "Geneva" (i.e., the Reformation) over "Toronto" (the current renewal/revival, and all the negative connotations associated with it).

By 2000, when I left CLC for a smaller church that was more open to the ongoing move of the Holy Spirit, any participation in the 90s renewal had been officially forgotten, and there was a total emphasis on the Cross of Christ, the writings of C.H. Spurgeon, and on identifying and rooting out "indwelling sin" in each member. There was, to me, an unhealthy, guilt-producing, emotional reminder, nearly every week, of how awful our sins were that nailed Christ to the cross. What was unhealthy, to me, was that we were always left at the cross, whereas the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus rose again (having conquered death and sin) and now sits at the right hand of God -- full of authority which he now shares with redeemed men and women for whom sin is not a continuing stumbling block, but something that should be less and less frequent in a maturing believer's life.

So like the Vineyard, PDI (renamed Sovereign Grace early in the 2000s -- after co-founder Larry Tomczak had been forced from leadership in a dispute over whether he had properly overseen his family) had been established following one charimatic renewal, but had then gone on to reject the following charismatic renewal, instead turning back to a 500-year-old foundation in the Reformation. Yet PDI/SGM continues to want it both ways: to have charismatic "distinctives" such as believing in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and charismatic-style worship, while embracing Reformed theology and rejecting the charismatic wing of US Christianity.

Today, SGM identifies with Baptist pastor and author John Piper (who, BTW, believes the gifts of the Spirit are for today), and anti-charismatic John MacArthur, while still maintaining contacts with Virgo's NFI (which has maintained more openness to Toronto-associated signs-and-wonders ministry), and having nothing to do with any ministry clearly recognized as charismatic. All this to say that C.J. Mahaney has not suddenly become a "reformed charismatic." What *is* sudden is the SGM movement's sudden appearance on the "radar screen" of the church, now that his and his wife's books, plus those of grafted-in Joshua Harris, have become Christian bestsellers. In addition, areas in which PDI/SGM were once too out-there for many (local-church & small-group emphasis) are now popular, and SGM has over 20 years of experience to share.

What's interesting to me is that in rejecting the Toronto-Brownsville style of renewal, PDI/SGM led to the birth of other very successful ministries. Lou Engle and Che Ahn, now leaders at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena and other related ministries, were both part of TAG and CLC from the earliest days. They moved to Pasadena after Ahn had a dream in which a black man called him to California, much like Paul's dream that led him to Macedonia. Ahn started a PDI church there but was eventually forced out of the movement -- events that Ahn refers to obliquely in his 1998 book, INTO THE FIRE. Ahn and Engle continued to minister in the LA area, however, and when the 90s renewal hit the Vineyard churches, both were radically changed. Locating Harvest Rock Church at Mott Auditorium in Pasadena allowed Ahn to welcome the Toronto and Brownsville streams to California, and HRC hosted a number of Catch the Fire conferences since the late 1990s. Both men went on to found The Call and related youth/revival movements, including a new prayer-based ministry in Washington DC focused on social justice.

Meanwhile, after Tomczak chose to break with PDI rather than continue submitting to a potentially never-ending period of correction, he was welcomed at Brownsville AG and became a member of the teaching staff at their revival school of ministry. He now pastors Christ the King church in Atlanta, and has published books that explore themes he has been advancing since the 1980s -- divine appointments and being a spiritual pioneer".

What My Friends Are Upto ...

I just thought I would provide a couple of links and news pieces on what is going on in the blogging world again - but more specifically with my friends. There's not a huge amount to say on the blogs I usually visit (other than one's got bloggers block, the same guy defined the Ephesians 4 Ministries really excellently - "a pastor loves Christians, a teacher loves books, an evangelist loves non-Christians, a prophet loves God and an apostle loves the church" - and no more mention of the dreaded club from the Mahaney women).

No far more exciting ...

Jul, the only SGM lady (apart from my mum) who is allowed to tell me off, has been awesomely inspired to write a song adapted from a hymn by Fanny Crosby -and thrillingly it has been inspired by Dr Ern Baxter. My favourite verse goes thus so: "If you're not here, we meet in vain, fill us with your power today ... Holy Spirit you alon can deeper love inspire ... And while we wait O Spirit come in kingdom building power". It's definately worth reading. I know I will be using it in my meditations and glory times.

Luke Wood has been (OH how jealous am I!?) to the Newfrontiers Leaders Prayer and Fasting Days in Derby. And just to really rub my face in it, got close enough to take a picture of my two heroes - Dave Devenish and Terry Virgo! It seriously thrilled me to be reminded of these vital days that Newfrontiers hold especially after being so challenged myself about the importance of the "Watch of the Lord". You get the feeling that if Luke calls it a "life-changing and eye-opening experience" then it really would fulfill my imagination. And with that powerful undercurrent of prophetic intercession and calling on God, suddenly you understand why Newfrontiers are making an impact on the world such as they are. When will we as a church get it? The most important meeting we can hold is a PRAYER MEETING! It's not acceptable to cancel the bi-monthly or monthly prayer meeting just because we've got a business meeting or something "better" to do! Rant over ...

We've heard nothing from Mark Heath for ten days now. I sense that he is back in the sleepless nights phase ... and no, that isn't my gift of prophecy - its because his latest gift from God is ten days old! We're with you Mark in spirit ...

Scott perhaps is living life too well - we haven't heard from him either since January 15th. Maybe student life is just too busy? Or has he got bloggers block too?!

Hartlib never wastes his words, so you know that if he writes, it's worth reading! In his latest post he argues: "History is not a peripheral subject of interest to a few (out-of-date?) people, but something that shapes our understanding of the world we live in and our own identity. Consciously or not, we are all historians - we all have a view on/ an understanding of the past - and if we're not conscious of it, that probably indicates that we have by default adopted the version presented to us by our culture". The response required? We must work to develop a Christian interpretation of history - if we do not, the automatic alternative is the development of one that is hostile to the Lordship of Christ.

And Fretboarder has developed some cool new guitar riffs .... I'm too scared to ask what they are, but they something worth thanking God for, so they must be good.

The King, the Kingdom and the Holy Spirit!

Many, many thanks to Ministries Without Borders for a most amazing parcel that arrived today from All Nations Church, Cardiff! I've agreed with James in previous entries that the series Ern Baxter gave on the "The King, the Kingdom and the Holy Spirit" was a particularly unique one - and today they sent me it in book format! I've been trying to get hold of it second hand on Amazon for ages - but not surprisingly it is always not available. So very excited and very pleased!

Once again, Baxter's former administrator, Ritch Carlton writes the foreword and noted:

"The message in this book is, by his own words, the most significant one he feels he has ever presented. He taught this series many times ... Ern believed that the Word could not be without the Spirit, and that the Spirit without the Word would lead to error. He refused to separate them ... Here he calls us to follow him in his life journey by refusing to choose between the Word and the Spirit. Keep them together. Insist on both ... This is the essence Ern's life message, captured here for the next generation".

Ern opened the book with a broadside on the "Neglected Holy Spirit" - this will be the focus of todays post. By the way, I discussed Ern's views on the "Neglect of the Holy Spirit" a few years ago with a former hero of mine, and he suggested that the situation had changed in the light of the Charismatic Movement to, "Misunderstood Holy Spirit" - just a thought.

Ern wrote:

"The Holy Spirit has suffered from neglect, depersonalization, neutralization, misdefinition and a whole host of other unhappy things. I believe that these happened precisely because of His importance; the Holy Spirit is that Person of the Holy Trinity who comes directly in touch with us in life and experience. Satan is not at all adverse to our having intellectually orthodox views of the Holy Spirit, but he is clearly against our becoming involved with Him in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the One who brings the life, power, energy, illumination, inspiration and enablement of the Triune God to each of us, individually and corporately.

Recognising this, Satan said; "I don't mind them holding right views about the Holy Spirit, but if He ever gets loose among them, He will tear up my kingdom". For this reason I believe that the Holy Spirit has been Satan's prime target for the past 2, 000 years. His plan has been simple; "Keep him out of activity. Get men arguing over the nature of the Father and the Son, over the nature of the Trinity, and over the nature of election. Keep them arguing over a thousand aspects of philosophy and theology but keep them seperated from the Holy Spirit. If He ever gets loose among them, then I'm in trouble.

To a certain degree, Satan has succeeded in his objective; much of the Church has remained ignorant of the role and function of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity ... It's not enough just to receive (the Holy Spirit), be baptized by Him and enjoy His gifts and blessings. He has come for more reasons than that. He came to bless you, change you and regenerate you. He came to fill you. He came to gift you and heal you. He came to illuminate you. Indeed He did all that, but He didn't come just for your sake; He came from the Father, for the Father's sake.

The Kingdom, the government of God is the rule of God. It is the place where He is proceeding to fill all things to Himself. As we respond to the working of the Spirit, to the purposes of God on the earth, we also become agents in the realisation of God's government. God rules in Spirit, and as the Kingdom comes it brings all things into subjection under Christ our King".

Hallelujah!

"Watch With Me" - the Lost Art of Intercession.

I was reading through the previous few pieces of writing that I have done and meditating on the exciting passion for the restoration of God's House, the glorious end-time church, and I suddenly felt a little tug - how will it come about? Are we to sit idly by and wait for God to sort His own business out? Or does heaven actually indeed wait with bated breath for saints on earth to pray?

Mahesh Chavda wrote: "Prayer is the backbone of the Church ... the Lord is speaking a new word about an old word. The old word is: "Pray!". The new word is: "Pray corporately!". The Lord is opening our eyes to this simple truth: Prayer is where everything begins and ends in the realm of the Spirit".

Two of my greatest living heroes; Terry Virgo and Stanley Jebb are both so, because they are men of prayer. I have suddenly realised that when I am in their presence and hear them pray, I am not only standing on extremely holy ground but that I am also listening intently to what they pray - because it is an outstanding teaching opportunity. Two of my favourite quotes of Terry Virgo came while he was praying. I wonder if he would even remember saying them! The first one was when he was praying at the Brighton Leaders Conference 2002. He prayed:

"Let our Doctrines adorn our Name".

The second was when he was praying at Church of Christ the King, Brighton. He said:

"Your Desire to Bless Us Exceeds Even Our Desire to Know You".

I don't think you can become men of prayer overnight, like these two heroes. I think it takes a lifetime of intense and deep communion with the Lord! And I have no doubt they would be the first to claim that they have had their mornings when they have overslept or been "not in the mood" - but their testimony speaks volumes now. I want to learn from them!

Then secondly along the same theme, I was up this morning reading the Word (no I wasn't up at 5 o clock!! And no I'm not going to say when I was up!!) and I found this breathtaking passage, from Numbers.

(Numbers 16:44-49) "And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "Get away from among this congregation that I may consume them instantly". Then they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, "Taken your censor and put it in fire from the altar and lay incense on it, and then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, and the plague has begun!". Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken and ran into the midst of the assembly for behold, the plague had begun among the people. And he took his stand between the living and the dead so that the plague was checked".

“Do you hear? Do you see? My anger burns against my moribund church. I had such hopes, such dreams, such visions for My People yet there they sit week after week - a lifeless people. My people squabble like children over lifeless pools of stagnant water - when I have provided a torrent of fresh Living water! My people stubbornly block their ears when the fresh bread of My Word lies on the desert week after week, yet they wrestle, fight and squabble over diseased, mouldy old bread that came from years hence! I tell you this; a plague has gone out among My people and I move among them - ready to remove their lampstands and extinguish their lights. Their crimes are too great. How I wish that the doors of their meeting halls would be shut! I am sick of their pious worship. Even as they lift their faces to Me, they sneak subtle glances around to ensure that noone else is exceeding them in outward manifestation. Shut the doors! Silence them! Let them die! I've had enough!

Yet I tell you this - My mercy shines like the morning day star, just as potently as My anger is burning like the fires of Hades itself. Just one glance - just one look from My people and I will stay My hand. But they do not look. So I am moving! I am calling! I look for a man who will stand between the living and the dead and will halt Me, who will arrest My attention by that sweet adorable aroma of costly worship rising on the fumes of the fires of My Spirit. Is there a man? I call you - will you answer the call? Do you remember where the censor is? Do you remember what the incense smells like? Is the fire still burning? I told you it mustn't be extinguished - have you been tending the fire that I lit when I poured My Spirit out upon you? Seize the censors My priests - anoint them with incense and run to stand before Me. I promise you - that smell will be sweet to Me. I will hear your cries and will listen to your petitions - for know this! My Son still stands! Radiant! Glorious as the noon day sun! And His cries and prayers will match yours! Are you going to answer the call? Will you become priests who will stand alone for Me? Hear Me, answer Me, My heart beats with excitement, thrill to see if you will answer My call", says your God.

There is a divine response to our uplifted fire and incense-filled prayer:

"Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house". (2 Chronicles 7:1-2).

I don't know about you - but I'd LOVE that to be my church on Sunday!! I can't actually enter because the glory of the Lord had filled the house!!

Excited About Israel?

My reading and thinking is very much geared towards restoration, revival, God's ultimate purpose for His Church - His glorious Bride etc etc, so it is probably not surprising that one of the books I'm re-reading is "The Puritan Hope" by Iain Murray. What a glorious book! Suddenly we find that a positive eschatology is not unique to Newfrontiers alone! However I was reading a chapter last night and was quite surprised by a quote that Murray including from the great Puritan Richard Sibbes and his sermon, "The Bruised Reed". The quote said this:

"The faithful Jews rejoiced to think of the calling of the Gentiles, and why should we not joy to think of the calling of the Jews?".

The doctrinal background I come from has always been an assumption that Israel will be indeed grafted in at some point in a revival to the Church (Stanley Jebb, Anglia Bible Week 1983) but however I have been guilty of neglecting studying it in any depth. So I hunted down the actual sermon by Richard Sibbes in his Works, and was really impressed and excited by the fact that this great reawakening of the Jews is meant to stand as a sign for us - that when we see this day, we will know that the return of our Lord isn't far off!

John Hosier wrote extremely wisely and excellently (as per usual) on this, noting that we must not treat this subject fatalistically, or allow it to become one of our primary doctrines - rather we must "actively and passionately involved in preaching the gospel and planting churches across the world" - and that includes Israel!

Yet I think that he would agree with this quote by Sibbes, that it is a subject we can allow ourselves to get excited about!

The People of the Anointing.

I am still incredibly taken up with the call to the Nations - and this truth that we are hopeless without the power, aid, help and Presence of the Spirit. Yes - without His Presence, we are nothing but sincere! But with Him - the Nations will come. Ern Baxer was fond of saying that when the Spirit of God is moving, evangelists only have to say, "Blue Cheese" and the Nations will be crying out, "What must we do to be saved?".

Ern had an extremely powerful vision in 1963 at a Convention in Canada, that I think has yet to be fulfilled. Here is a transcript of what he said and saw:

“One night as I waited there in the Convention Centre, I felt I should get on my knees and as I got on my knees I had a vision. In the vision I saw the earth as the astronauts pictured it from the moon. It was an orb out in space and all over that orb were Quonset huts. Now many of you are too young to know what they are, but after the last world war, the army sold those aluminium, warehouse-like structures called Quonset huts which had become army surplus. At any rate, I saw Quonset huts all over the globe and they were all the same size.

I said, “God, what’s this?”.

And He replied; “I am going to have in every place a people that are known for the anointing”. Now at that time I had a permanent pastoral charge and I didn’t know then that I would be involved in a travelling ministry. But He said next; “And when you travel from place to place, you will not ask for My people by this name or that but you will say – ‘Where are the people of the anointing’?”.

Without Him, we are nothing but sincere. With Him, the Nations will come!

Once again I have benefited so much from a comment made by one of my friends - it is from there I derive the title of this thought for the day. Slightly earlier in his comment, Luke said; "It is so important to be living in the utter fullness of everything the cross achieved for us". And I wonder - we are very good at using phrases like; "Cross" or "Gospel" but I wonder how much thought is given to actually considering (to use Luke's words) "the utter fulness of everything the cross achieved for us"?

I would like to include a portion of Dr Ern Baxter's sermon entitled "Thy Kingdom Come". He preached this at a Shepherds Conference in Kansas City in 1975. It is arguably (at least in my opinion) the most powerful message he ever preached. There were reports of signs and wonders in the conference - angelic visitations and sightings, and the response from the gathered thousand show that the men there stood as one. The section is not particularly exposition - but rather amplified narrative - and I find it incredibly stirring, for it weaves together the life of Christ and His work, His death on the Cross and His victorious resurrection.

He said:

The Incarnation.

"When Jesus came into the world in the humiliation of the Incarnation, He started on a route of conquest that took Him through the lonely years prior to His introduction at the muddy waters of Jordan, when the bony prophet-like finger of John the Baptist was pointed at Him and those significant words were uttered; "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). For some thirty-three and a half years He overcame and lived an impeccable life so that it was said of Him, "that He was tempted in all points like as we, yet without sin".

To Calvary.

His impeccable life was followed a decisive death. He went to Calvary to endure inexplicable and incomparable suffering: suffering that we can only have a hint of. Suffering that we can only look at curiously and with a sob in our throats. Suffering veiled in the mystery of the bearing of sin. Suffering surrounded by torn rocks and a sun that refuses to shine and an earth that writhed in agony. And as He hangs there alone, God reaches down His giant fist and gathers the accumulated sin of men and places it upon Him. He became the sin-centre of the universe so that it is later said of Him, "He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".

In the awful loneliness of Calvary, He made His soul an offering for sin and the sin of the world was placed upon him, and the waves of God's wrath were released upon Him. He became an offering for sin, and He gave up the ghost and came down from the mystery of His sufferings - having finished the work. What men saw was a man hanging limp - every bone out of joint, a swollen tongue protuding from burning lips as He cried out, "It is finished!". They didn't know what was going on.

But the veil of revelation is drawn back for us, and we're told by Paul that something was going on in the darkness of that awful hour. Jesus was tying a chain around the neck of the demonic world. He was dragging them across the stage of the cosmos. The Bible says, "He was destroying principalities and powers and making a show of them openly ... triumphing over them in His Cross". He was dealing with sin. He was dealing with the old Adamic society. And whne He had done it in the mystery of His Cross, He said, "It is finished!".

To Hades.

Then He went down to make His announcement. The Apostle's Creed says, "He descended into hell" or Hades. I'm not going to take time to document these things or enter into argument about them. But I believe that He went down and through the authority of what He had just accomplished at Calvary, He confronted Satan himself as He stood at the portals of the world of hades, and He said to him; "I'll take the keys". Satan retorted, "I have been waiting for You for about 4, 000 years; I was there in the Garden of Eden and I heard my sentence. I was told somebody was going to come along and crush my head. I've been waiting for You, and I've been killing people off all through history because I thought they were the ones. But here You are. Now get in there with the rest of them.

Who was in there? Abraham and Issac and Jacob and Isaiah and Malachi - they were all waiting in Paradise. In fact just before our Lord had gone through His Cross, two of them - Moses and Elija - came up on the Mount of Transfiguration to have a conversation with the Messiah. The Bible tells us what they talked about. They "spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). And they said to the Lord, "Everybody's excited down in Paradise. There's great excitement down there Maschiach. We've been appointed as a committee to come up and tell you that everything's all astir down there. When we left, Isaiah wanted to come. He said, "This is the greatest day. I wrote about this and now it's coming to pass". Abraham was right behind ... he ... he wanted to come too. But we were appointed to come and tell You that we're so grateful for what You're doing. There are thousands down there! Everythings all astir!".

Sacrifices Were Not Enough.

Why? Because under the Old Covenant, the blood of bulls and of goats couldn't take away sin. There were men down in paradise clenching in their fists their credit notes ... for there down there with promissary notes. Everytime an Israelite laid his hands on a lamb and transmitted his sin, that lamb died in his place. But at best that ritual was just a credit note to be redeemed by the most precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And they had been waiting for the time when their credit notes would be redeemed - and the time had finally come.

The Moment of Triumph.

So Jesus came down from His Cross and He confronted the satanic prince and He said; "I'll take those keys". And Satan said, "No one has ever talked to me like this". Jesus replied, "No one ever had the authority to before. But as God's King, as the One who has been given authority as His delegated Sovereign, I am in charge now. I'll take the keys". And Satan handed Him the keys. Then Jesus went into the unrighteous section, opened the door and looked in and He pronounced to those inside that they had been righteously judged for having rejected God's counsel under the old economy. Then He shut the door and left them there. But then He turned to the gate of paradise, opened it and said, "Come on - let's go!".

The Graves Broke Open.

They started up the steps of ascension and when they got as far as Jerusalem, some of those Old Testament saints said, "Master do you mind if we have a stop over ticket? We'd like to spend a few hours in the old home town. We haven't seen it for centuries!". According to the Bible, the bodies of many of the saints were seen in the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52, 53).

Bringing Many Sons to Glory.

After visiting the old home town, they continued their journey. And up and up they went until they came in sights of the ramparts of Glory. And then this great crowd of Old Testament redeemed, who were moving Paradise into better quarters, cried out; "Lift up your heads O gates and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in".

However it wasn't that easy, for the angelic protectors hurled back their challenge over the ramparts of Glory saying, "Who is the King of Glory?". The saints replied; "He is the Lord strong and mighty! The Lord mighty in battle! He is the One who has just come freshly from the battlefield of Golgotha, where single handledly He dealt a death blow to all of Satan's plans and purposes. Where single handedly He bore the sins of men, where single handedly He died a decisive death - meeting the demands of God and the requirements for man. He is the Lord strong and mighty! The Lord mighty in battle! Now ... will you lift up your heads oh ye gates? Lift them up O ancient doors that the King of Glory may come in?".

And again unsatisfied the challenge rang out, "Who is this King of Glory?" Again the triumphant response came, "He is the Lord of hosts! He is the King of Glory! He is the One who is in charge of all the angelic hosts! But not only that, He is the King now of a multitude that no man can number. He is God's delegated authority. He is the One to bring to God the fruit of His purposes. He is the King of Glory! Now swing back those gates and let the King of Glory come in!".

Sit Down and Reign Until ... !

And the gates swing back and He enters in, steps up to the Father's throne and presents the tokens of His redemption. And the Father says, "Sit down Son at My right hand and reign until Your enemies are made Your footstool!".

Drink ... Or the Nations Will Not Come.

I have been so impressed all today with the quote of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones that I included in my writings yesterday. Let me remind you - he urged:

The responsibility of Christians is very great. We have to start with the Church, not with the world outside. The chief trouble is in the Church. The masses are outside largely because we who are inside are not attracting them."We are failing to give the impression that we have the most glorious of all possessions. We give an impression of lethargy, of slowness and of dulness, there seems to be more life outside. The church should be the most exciting and thrilling place in the world and if she is not, we are somehow or other, "quenching the Spirit" - from the CD of his sermons on "Quenching the Spirit".

It is gradually dawning on me more and more that the grace of God through His Spirit is not just an "option". A useful extra that we can access if we so wish! It is far more than simply calling one's church; "Grace ...". Some of the most legalistic churches can hide under the banner of grace! No - enjoying God's grace, benefiting from and drawing on God's grace through the life in the Spirit and the filling - the drenching of the Spirit is the ULTIMATE IMPERATIVE!

We simply must do it! Or the nations will not come! And why should they?! As I was walking home from work, I felt God gave me a picture of our current experience of the Spirit. That we are lapping from stagnant pools of water where He poured out His Spirit in the past. We may be lapping from the stagnant pool of the 1970's. Or from the stagnant pool of 1994-95. But the horror is that the risen and exalted Lord Jesus stands at the right hand of the Father - the keeper of an everlasting Spring of Living Water that will quench us and flood us and change us forever! After all - isn't that what He said? "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink ... this He spoke of concerning the Spirit".

I worry that in our effort to protect the validity of the baptism of the Spirit, we neglect to focus on the ultimate imperative - that of drinking of the Spirit. Terry Virgo spoke on the relative ease (dare I say it reverently) of drinking of the Spirit - at Stoneleigh Bible Week 1998. His message was: "Gathered Together as One Man". Here is a transcript of that section:

"I've been continually recommending Gordon Fee's bok about "God's Empowering Presence" and again this one; "The Spirit and the People of God". I have found working my way through these books a terrific revelation of the place of the Holy Spirit and it has done me such good, studying the Word about this subject and the key place of the Holy Spirit. The enjoyment of the continual flow of the Holy Spirit is so very important to us - keep receiving, keep receiving.

Didn't you love Ken Gott last year? There was a phrase he used - I won't ever forget it, I think. I've been living in the good of it. There are some people, he said, who are what he calls; "Serious drinkers". And he was talking about the alcoholic types. And serious drinkers, he said, have got bottles everywhere. And that image stayed with me, because I have known people who in their filing cabinets in their office - you pull out the 3rd draw and there it is! So serious drinkers have got bottles everywhere. And really really serious drinkers have a hip flask anyway!

And he was talking about, "Dont be filled with wine, but be filled with the Spirit". And that really stayed with me - yes, I can be a serious drinker. I can stop anywhere and say; "Oooh thank you Lord! Oooh!". I have found that such a blessing - I have been in a situation and just put my hand on the door and stepped back and thought - serious drinkers would have that hip flask out now. I thought; "Right, I'm a serious drinker - here we go! Ooh thank you Lord!". We need to keep on drinking! Keep on receiving! It's very important that we do that!".

For those more serious readers who wince at that, I read again the clauses for receiving and drinking of the Spirit. Thirst. Is anyone thirsty? Then come. It didn't say; "Is anyone rightous?" or "Did anyone get up at 5 o clock this morning to read their Bible?" (thank God!!) - it said is anyone THIRSTY? Do we really know true thirst for the Spirit of God? Or have we deceived ourselves that the stagnant pool of some decades ago quenches our thirst and will suffice. That is NOT acceptable! With all due respect, I believe that what Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones could have been suggesting is that the world won't come into the Church because they look at us and see an emaceated people who are struggling in the wilderness - yet are foolishly ignoring the torrent that is streaming right near them. Why should they come!? I wouldn't!

I must close with a quote from Terry's awesome "God's Lavish Grace" that is so undergirding everything that I experienced last weekend when he brought that prophetic bombshell on my wilderness life:

"Don't walk in the shadows when you could be in the sunshine. Don't wander into uncertainity, vulnerability and condemnation when you could be enjyoing the privilidges of grace and expressing continual appreciation to God for His amazing favour.

Don't question or doubt God's love or constantly ask Him to prove it by repeated "Gideon's fleeces". Take responsibility for keeping yourself in God's love. Plunge into its depths and soar to its heights. Explore its breadths. Contemplate its everlasting length. He has loved you with an everlasting love. He has always loved you and will never stop loving you".

And then Terry draws the connection close between God's lavish grace and the Spirit of God:

"Paul engaged in Holy Spirit inspired activity, deliberately enjoying God's empowering Presence in His personal life on a regular basis. He knew that his body was a temple of the Holy Spirit where Spirit-inspired worship could regularly take place".

The "Ultimate Imperative" - Be Filled With the Spirit.

I was quite amazed at the response to my thoughts on setting a particular time on getting up to meet with God. I think a comment by a wise guy was key:

"The amount of interest a post on legalism attracts tells us just how much of a challenge this represents to us.At the risk of over-simplifying things the only way I know to handle legalism (or license for that matter) is to live by the Spirit".

I have been reading "God's Lavish Grace" by Terry Virgo in the light of the awesome weekend that I have had, and Terry would agree most definately with the comment given. Indeed quoted Gordon Fee's comment on "Be Filled with the Spirit" to great effect - "The Ultimate Imperative". The word 'Imperative' suggests urgency! It suggests great need! And the comment made by Mark would tally with this. The ONLY way we can effectively combat legalism is to live by the Spirit - and I would argue be (continually) filled with the Spirit. So just a few thoughts on the Filling of the Spirit.

Terry wrote: "New Testament believers were essentially people of the Holy Spirit and were characterised by the Spirit's Presence and power. When Paul encountered the small group at Ephesus his opening question was not, as ours might have been, "Are you Christians?" or "Have you been saved?" - he asked, "Did you recieve the Holy Spirit when you believed?".

He used a powerful and telling quote from Thomas Schriener's "Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ" that commented: "Life in the Spirit cannot be reduced to autopilot or cruise control and although the believers in Galatia received the Spirit by faith, Paul is concerned that they may depart from their first steps. Apparantly believers need admonitions to live by the Spirit".

I have just been listening again to one of my favourite Christmas presents - Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on "Quenching the Spirit". He is characteristically awesome on the "imperative" of being filled with the Spirit:

"I am concerned about this not only in terms of our individual experiences but also because of the whole state of the Church. Why is the Church so ineffective? My answer is that she lacks this power (of the Spirit)".

"What about the life and the vigour? What about the warmth and the radiance? What about the joy and the praise and the thanksgiving? If they are not present, in some way or other, we are quenching the Spirit. The responsibility of Christians is very great. We have to start with the Church, not with the world outside. The chief trouble is in the Church. The masses are outside largely because we who are inside are not attracting them.

"We are failing to give the impression that we have the most glorious of all possessions. We give an impression of lethargy, of slowness and of dulness, there seems to be more life outside. The church should be the most exciting and thrilling place in the world and if she is not, we are somehow or other, "quenching the Spirit".

So ...

Legalism ... Grace ... Being Filled with the Spirit ... Reaching the Nations. Do these all tie together? Yes. To me there is a beautiful yet vital flow here. If the church is tied up with legalism then we are quenching the Spirit and therefore useless in fulfilling our Great Comission. On the other hand if we do see the "Ultimate Imperative" and treat being filled with the Spirit as a matter of URGENCY, then the Spirit will flow - legalism will be mortified (and we will not need 'clubs' to get up at a particular time in the morning - we will awake desperate to meet with God!) and we will go out to the nations full of the Spirit to reach the lost.

Early Morning Times With God - Legalism or Precious?

Ever since I was young, it has been drummed into me that it is a valuable spiritual discipline to get up early (preferably before the sun rises) and seek God. It used to be called a "quiet time" and then I became a charismatic and changed to "glory time". But I've been slightly bothered by the recent practice of putting a time on when one should get up. Why so? Because I don't see a time put down in the Word of God, and I am concerned that laying down a time will result in oh-so-easy legalism. If not for the ones who laid down the time, certainly for those who seek to emulate those particuar people.

I am trying to establish a tension here as always. I am fully appreciative of getting up early to seek God. A pastor friend and I have been rising between 5am to 6am every morning to pray for revival - and we text each other to stay away and encourage each other. C H Spurgeon said:

"Observe the eagerness implied in the time mentioned; he will not wait for noon or the cool eventide; he is up at cockcrowing to meet his God. Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised. The morning is the time for dew and freshness, and the psalmist consecrates it to prayer and devout fellowship. The best of men have been betimes on their knees. The word early has not only the sense of early in the morning, but that of eagerness, immediateness. He who truly longs for God longs for him now. Holy desires are among the most powerful influences that stir our inner nature; hence the next sentence".

So what I am seeking to establish is, does the fault lie on those eager souls (and I have no doubt that their spirituality FAR exceeds my own) who lay down this time, or does it lie with us - the readers who so easily fall into legalistic practice because of that time? Let me give an example. I was once asked by an elder at my home church what time I got up in the morning. I told him that I got up at 5:30am which was true. Yet it wasn't to seek God - it was because I had an early morning paper round. He was very approving and quoted it to some of the other elders.

Surely it isn't the specific time that we get up - ie. 4am, 5am or 6am - but what we do with it. Or is there a kind of heroes board - the spiritual giants get up at 4am, the mediocre souls at 5am and the wandering souls at 6am? I really don't think that God is going to be particularly interested in the specific time on the Day of Judgement, rather did we use the time wisely. In fact it seems to me that by getting up earlier, we are actually MORE accountable to God for the time that He has given us so must be more careful with what we do with it!

Please understand me - I am not, not, NOT criticising the practice of getting up early to seek God. I do it - and I love it. But the particular time I get up is a private thing - agreed between me and God - and on special occasions, friend with whom I am accountable. But I am utterly persuaded that there is no use whatsoever in getting up early if we fritter away the time by drinking tea or coffee, reading the paper, watching the early morning news or whatever. The important thing about getting up early is the QUALITY of the time that we have gained for ourselves and how we use it to walk with the Spirit and grow in our relationship with Him.

Piper Does It Again ...

And I couldn't allow these two really exciting points to go unmentioned before bed! Even while ill, Dr John Piper shows no signs of letting up and 'taking life easy'. He's got a new book - "Contending For Our All" - out that I will SO be ordering! I can't wait for that to appear in the UK. This is the fourth in his biography series that he presents at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors. He is covering the lives of Athanasius, John Owen and J Grescham Machen.

And secondly he has organised an awesome sounding National Conference following on from Suffering and the Supremacy of God - this conference will be covering "The Supremacy of God in a Postmodern World" and the speakers are David Wells, D A Carson, Mark Driscoll and John Piper himself. As we speak I am working on my finances to see if I can afford to go. Carson and Piper in the same room ... I can't resist!

The Importance of Local Church Leadership.

I been wanting to write some things on the role of Pastor/Teacher for some time. I think sometimes this Ephesians 4 Ministry can get forgotten with the excitement in charismatic circles with the Apostle and the Prophet. Yet I wrote previously that I contend that it was the pastor/teacher who de-railed the Charismatic Movement as was. They have tremendous responsibility! And tremendous challenges! "Be not many teachers brethren, for theirs is the great judgement". I am well aware that sometimes I can give the impression in comments I make on this blog that I am less than impressed with pastors and local churches - so this is an attempt to counter that and show how vital I believe they really are. By the way there is an excellent interview with Pastor/Teacher Mark Dever here ... well worth the read.

In his book, "God's Agenda" Dr Ern Baxter noted eight guidelines for pastor/teachers from Paul's words in Acts 20:18-21.

1. Be an Example Before the Flock.

Paul told the elders; "You know my way of life ... you know after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord". Terry Virgo reminded us at Brighton that Gideon said a similar thing to his followers; "Watch me".

2. Serve the Flock in Humility with Tears.

Ern said; "I found out that it is a very practical thing to be humble. If you're humble you don't compete. If you're humble you don't strive. If you're humble, you're not jealous ... The apostle Paul also speaks of tears. He felt deeply about people ... Paul's care for the sheep was so meaningful that he knew what it was to weep over them and to weep over those who forsook the way of the Lord".

3. Serve the Lord with Honesty and Courage.

He said; "As shepherds of the flock we have our own religious games that we play. If we know that God wants us to bring a word that is going to be hard to give, we adopt the "shun principle" ... the truth is clear. Shepherd - if you're not preaching the word the Lord told you to preach, then you are shunning to declare the whole counsel of God!".

4. Work Hard in the Ministry.

Note this. He wrote; "It is a tragedy that in our day, ministers have become known as playboys, with low golf handicaps and an equally low capacity for hard work. Yes there is a time for leisure and there's a place for pleasure, but we owe God at least as much industrious application in the business of spiritual leadership as a businessman invests in the marketplace".

I am so thankful that my pastor Dr Jebb set such an amazing example in this area. He worked. I remember passing the church late at night sometimes if I was on my way home from a friends when I was a teenager and I would look up and see the light still burning in his office.

5. Live a Committed Life.

Ern said; "Have any of you realised that when God called you into His sevice, He called you to martyrdom? In the early church that was understood. Everyone of the apostles was martyred (with the possible exception of the apostle John), along with thousands of other believers. We don't think of martyrdom today. I want to shock you. Anyone of us may become martyrs before we're through with this decade".

6. Accept Responsibility for God's Sheep.

"Paul had faithfully and uncompromisingly presented the gospel to the Jews and Gentiles alike. That is why he was able to say; "The blood of no man rests on my hands because of deliquence or failure. I have faithfully, night and day, with tears, warned every man".

7. Minister Selflessly.

"To serve God, you have to make an economic adjustment. At one point I made a simple covenant with the Lord. I said, "Lord I'm working for you. I will never lift a finger to make a penny out of my ministry (and I never have). But Lord I expect You to take care of me (and He has)".

8. Be Sensitive: Avoid Ulterior Motives.

I found this part especially interesting!

Ern wrote: "As we find young men who are emerging to enter the ministry, we need to talk to them about celibacy ... Now celibacy is not something you can choose. It's a charism or a gift. However it is a charism that Paul considered valid and necessary for his work. We at least need to talk to young men about the possibility that if God is calling them into a difficult calling, then they should consider carefully the possibility that they may have the gift of celibacy. Of course you know that if you don't have the gift of celibacy if you can't keep your hands off a woman. That is why the Bible bluntly tells us that it's a good thing to marry rather than burn with passion (1 Cor 7:9).

I know young men who are pure, who have the gift of celibacy and who are serving God in very difficult situations in ways that they couldn't do if they were married. The ministry is a very high calling".

I have not heard any call to celibacy for years. The call I grew familiar with in recent years was to hurry up and get married. Yet noone noted that Paul said it is better to not be married! So I am hugely encouraged tonight in what Ern wrote.

Blogwatch ...

I realised that it has been a while since I noted what I've been watching in the blog world and passed commentary on it - this was mainly due to my fevour in the last few months to get more of Ern Baxter into print (this website is devoted to him after all) and less of Dan Bowen. Like most bloggers I do have an exhaustive list of the sites I like to follow and read them each day to see if anything new has been put forward - by the way, if you're an IT illiterate like me, the Blue Fish has got a nifty thing on his links that tells you when a particular blog has been updated. Very handy! Saves minutes of loading up a blog - only to be disappointed.

So ...

1. Bob Kauflin of SGM has been wondering whether there is a place for announcements in the church. He accepts that long dull notices (or confused badly organised notices I would add) can be one of the most effective ways quench the Spirit. A useful post. We at Full Faith Church however would be horrified at the thought of "email notices, internet notices, announcements on a screen or newsletters" as his pastor Josh Harris suggests. You will find a sample of our notices here which will demonstrate how seriously we take this integral part of the worship. (*For the more serious blogger - this is tongue in cheek*).

2. Two of my close friends, Jonathan Skipper and Luke Wood rejoice that "they are not dead yet". Mind you - that was the last post we heard from them, so I hope that they are not praying the one prayer that Elijah didn't get answered ... guys - you need to hear Terry Virgo on this! Seriously though ... hope you guys are okay and look forward to reading your blogs when life gets a little less manic!

3. Reconstructionist and Gary North-fan Dave Skipper has birthed a new blog that we are looking forward to following. He promises he is not a "crack-pot revolutionary" ... but rather a believer in the guaranteed victory of Jesus Christ over all His foes. A promising stimulating read.

4. Pyromaniac has shut himself down but re-birthed himself in a group blog, following recent popular trends. His reasons? Cessationism just doesn't seem fun anymore.

5. Together for the Gospel continue to be ... together. I've been doing an audit since they began on their most popular and over-used words.

"Excellent" - 4

"Serve you" - 4

"C.J" - 9

"Sports" - 7

Do I have too much time on my hands or just a psychological interest in the words men use?

6. The Charismatic (or Continuationist) versus Cessationist war seems to have either reached an uneasy detente. Was it because continuationist after continuationist said they didn't want to play anymore or Pyro was to blame for keeping the whole thing stirred up. Either way it's been carefully and amazingly documented here by an SGM-er. In the silence, I do wonder what each side had in mind as to the specifics of victory ... did the continuationists think that victory would be Pyro or John MacArthur suddenly breaking out into tongues? Or, God forbid, a subjective prophetic word? Did the cessationists think that victory would be a uniform call for gifts to stop being manifested? Not that there's anything wrong in a debate - I've loved it! But I guess we all now go on doing, what we've been doing and believing what we've been believing. Unless our scribe has found someone who has walked over to the 'other side' and has actually been persuaded by the arguments? I think the most helpful observation in the debate came from Sven who pointed out that we've all missed the place of eschatology in our disagreements.

7. In light of the release of blockbuster "Brokeback Mountain" blogger Scott has some very helpful remarks to make on that hot potatoe of all hot potatoes - homosexuality. He notes:

"The hideous treatment that many Christians inflict upon those who openly express their homosexuality — which I simply cannot understand and which I cannot tolerate as Christian behavior".

I would attest to this. Yet he notes very wisely that this subject must be seen in it's context, namely that: "until we embrace sex as something for marriage designed by God for childbearing and childrearing, which is accompanied by pleasure but not designed solely for pleasure, there is simply no rationale for a traditional Christian belief". Let us hope that other influential Christians hold to this sensible calm view in arguing - not reverting to the kind of hysteria that I have been familiar with.

By the way - Al Mohlers debate is worth reading on this - here's the transcript. He took part in a debate on the "Larry King" show around the time that "Brokeback Mountain" was released. There were openly gay participants in the debate, and Mohler's graciousness in dealing with them was commendable, while holding to truth.

And finally ... Emerging Church leader Brian McLaren leaves his church and takes on an itinerate role. This will enable him (I'm sure to many orthodox evangelicals dread) to write more books.

"The Church! The Hope of the World!".

Just a short entry because I've just worked a night and my bed is calling! I've still been reading "God's Agenda" by Dr Ern Baxter and have been so blown away by the doctrinal revelation there - of his view of the 'bigness' of God and of the People of God - His Bride, the Glorious Church! It was quite a blessed night because in tandem with that I was listening to that awesome DVD of interviews with Terry Virgo - so my two favourite giants of the faith both speaking at the same time! (By the way I do keep my eye on the kids as well!) This is the kind of business that I needed to be on, to ensure me that this most remarkable amazing weekend, where God has so powerfully invaded my life does not become just an emotional blip - but a solid on-going leap in my love for the Church and relationship with it. I'm on my way out of the wilderness!

One of the things that most impressed me was the foreword written by Ritch Carlton - Ern's Administrator. It reads as quite a testimony to a man obsessed with the Church:

"This is the carefully thought out, studied out and prayed out understanding by a man who had seen the results of most wild-eyed ideas as they came and went. He walked through the squalor of Christianity as it has been demonstrated in the twentieth century. He was a witness to Christianity's divisions - from the inside and the outside.

With disappointment he cried, "Where is the Church?". He knew that the Church is God's instrument in the earth to declare His glory and righteousness. He loved the Church. At this stage in his life, Ern Baxter was now looking at things from the other side. He was looking for the "Church" at the end of his life and felt he had found very little of its biblical definition in function or what it was meant to be.

Above all else Ern still believed that God had a purpose for the Church in the earth that would be realised in ultimate and complete victory".

"He Who Is Able to Do More ..." - Church Today!!

Woww!! Yep, this is going to be another "Woww" entry! Maybe some who read yesterdays entry thought it might be just an emotional reaction to a great sermon. I must confess I woke up slightly cynically when my alarm went off. But God was there! And He was excited! So off we went to Bridge Community Church, Bradley Stoke (Newfrontiers) - and its just ten minutes down the road! I must admit another overdose of Kalms was required - the fear was niggling. But as soon as we entered, we just felt overwhelmed in love and acceptance. The people were glad to see us! The leaders had remembered me from last night and make a point of coming over which meant so much!

As soon as the worship started, I just knew that my fears were groundless - God by His Spirit was powerfully present, and back came the tears! Amazingly the same themes were there from last night. A lady brought an incredible prophecy that spoke of: "I am the God who walks among the crowds. I am walking among you, waiting for your touch - your look". Benign? Trivial? Not to me!! It was life changing! Once again God was saying that I was welcome among His People - the People of God! The songs were simple and so powerful - and God added to the picture that I mentioned last night concerning the wave. I saw a picture of a child sitting in the sea splashing and trying to make the tide go further up the beach. Then I saw a surfer riding a huge wave. God said that for 4 years I have been that child trying to "make" His Spirit go further. But suddenly I knew that I didn't have to - that His Spirit was moving already and my call was just to ride it.

So sometimes I didn't even sing - I couldn't for my tears! I was just so grateful to be in a place where His Spirit was so welcome! God dealt with another thing that Terry Virgo mentioned last night - that of fearing the look in the eyes of people who were running. We were flooded with people who were so kind wanting to chat to us and I suddenly realised that they weren't looking and judging! They were too taken up with being amazed with the grace of God! Suddenly I don't have to be afraid of people - and I realised I didn't have to shut my eyes tightly as soon as worship began. I wasn't being holy - I was hiding! We were quickly "drafted" into a cell - which was EXACTLY what I needed!

The sermon was just great too - they have just started a series through 1 Corinthians and we were reminded that we are a Christ-Dependent Community. That means we are i) A Holy Community. ii) A Spirit Filled Community. iii) A Persevering Community. The sum-up was simply "Be What You Are"!

I think God's final act of grace in this area was when I got home and dug out my off-duty at the hospital to see what my shifts were and for the up-coming month I have virtually every Thursday (cell) and Sunday (church) off!! How AWESOME is our God?!?!

"But if All Prophesy ... The Secrets of His Heart Are Disclosed; and so He will Fall on His Face And Worship God". (1 Corinthians 14:24, 25).

Tonight marked the finale to Terry Virgo's visit to Bristol on his "God's Lavish Grace" tour and WHAT a finale it was. It has been proved to me unquestionably that Terry Virgo is a prophet - and he DOES indeed know the secrets of my heart! I realise that is a somewhat outlandish statement that some have devoted hours to trying to disprove, so to prove my claims - here is a full report of what happened in Bristol tonight.

While Terry Virgo remains my number 1 hero, I was not at all keen on going to the meetings held over the weekend, due to the presence of certain church leaders I was afraid to be in the same room as. So I went tonight with a group of close friends under a certain amount of duress and with an overdose of Kalms. We went in and sat near the back, and then the worship started ...

It was led by the gorgeous and ever-stunning Lou Fellingham and without any warm-up, she led us directly into the Presence of God. While I was greatly affected by the first few songs, I was aware that I was "trying" too hard in worship. And suddenly God was there and spoke to me so powerfully telling me that I must learn to ride the wave rather than try and create it. It was God's business to send the wave of His Spirit's Presence. And such Presence is a blessing that we are simply to soak in, rapture in, bask in and enjoy.

But alongside that I began to notice that the worship and the prayers and the prophecies that were given all carried a theme; "Nothing can pluck you from My hand ... My life is hid with Christ on high ... All our shame and history gone!". I knew what God was on about! That I had allowed the same men I was so afraid of to become giants and strongholds in my life - that their assessment of me; "A sinner and hopeless" - had become the assessment that I carried over myself

Then Terry got up to preach ...


His text was 1 Kings 19:1-16. And this made me slightly suspicious. He was going to preach on Elijah hiding in a cave. The last time I went to the amazing Bradley Stoke Newfrontiers church, they preached on Elijah hiding in a cave and left me with the challenge: "What are you doing here Dan?". So I knew as he read his text that a "NOW" word was coming.

One of the things I love listening to is Terry praying. Being such a man of prayer, he (like my pastor Stanley Jebb) has the unique ability to teach something of his intimate relationship with the God he adores while he is speaking to him. His prayer went like this: "You know how to keep in your hand, those you have called ... Bring renewal, recovery and restoration into Your grace ... Give us a revelation of Your style".

He introduced Elijah by noting that while he is famous for his boldness - this text shows that indeed as the NIV says; "Elijah was a man like us". This cave incident is just after Carmel and Elijah had undergone an extraordinary transformation. What happened to him? Terry suggested that self-preservation had taken over and he took his eyes off God.

So his first point was: 1. How Did It Happen? Note once again God allowed me no warm up. This is the point where my jaw dropped, my heart began pounding and my eyes filled with tears. He suggested that the first thing that may have obscured Elijah's vision of God was his handling of rightous anger. This is a delicate area in the Bible, for we are told to "Be angry yet do not sin". There is a right way and a wrong way to do it and there may easily come a point where rightous anger is replaced by my anger. (*Note this*) You may have left a church because church leaders did something to you which was wrong ... and you know you were right. Yet you allow this anger to consume you and in that simple step you have stepped out of the Presence of the Spirit and something has soured your soul - and you lose your simple and beautiful joy in the Lord.

Another thing, Terry noted, that could have allowed Elijah to take his eyes of the Lord was to suddenly be in the public gaze. Public vindication came on Carmel - and he was famous! Yet sometimes it is too easy to look for appreciation as to what we did - rather than God's glory. There is indeed something exciting about the anointing of God - the favour of God, and it can allow us to take our eyes off the Lord and look to our own fame and our own ministry.

Thirdly Elijah could have been emotionally and utterly exhausted. So many things can drain us that we don't often realise. Disapointment can exhaust us and you cannot just ignore it! You must take that broken promise to God - the Psalms are full of it! If you carry disappointment and delayed promises and don't do something with them, then something begins to erode in your soul. It can be disappointment with church. Related to that can be self-disappointment. We can be so generous to others but very hard on ourselves! Beware of being disappointed with yourself.

Fourthly perplexity can drain us. Understanding of a disaster can bring endorsement but perplexity can lead to fear. If we understand why God does something and allows something then we can see the bigger picture. But fear can consume us and allow us to take our eyes off the Lord and look to ourselves.

Terry drew special attention to verse 3 of the text: "He left his servant". He asked the question - why did Elijah leave his servant? It is a bad sign when you don't want the eyes of the people who used to run with you to look at you anymore. (*Note - another jaw dropping moment*). You used to come to church and now you're withdrawing because you don't want to be with people anymore. You fear what they see.

So Elijah goes out to the wilderness - a place of total condemnation and he prays the suicide prayer. (*I prayed the suicide prayer last Sunday*). We fear to wake up - we hate the morning because we fear what it will bring. But this is the only prayer that Elijah didn't get answered! Hallelujah! He has run out of gas and runs into grace.

2. Recovery and Renewal.

God doesn't condemn Elijah - but neither does He ignore him. There is no answer from heaven to the suicide prayer. Firstly God lets him sleep. We must build rest into our quota! Secondly He brings him food. Now note this. When Elijah acted in obedience, he was taken to the Valley of Kidron and a raven brought him food. When he was running away in disobedience and fear, an angel came and ministered to him and fed him. The awesome grace of God!

So Elijah goes to Horeb - or Sinai - the Mountain of God. He went back to the place where God first met him. That is an excellent step for us - we must get back to the things we first knew were true. If you are a Christian, you've got some history! You know that there's a God - you have promises and prophecies underlined in your Bible. He is the Lord! He is wonderful! Didn't God promise wonderful things to you? Will you come back tonight? God's answer and way of recovery comes to him via a question: What are you doing here Elijah?

Terry noted that when we are despondant, we like and tend to lose our identity. Yet part of recovery is taking responsibility for our identity. The question ended: "Elijah". Elijah! My servant! We haven't ceased to be the person that God wanted us to be just because we run into the wilderness. Come back and repent - and you will find that God's plans for you haven't changed. You get a display of God's authority - ALL things are possible!

Yet startlingly enough, sometimes the greatness of God isn't where you are, and note that the Lord came to Elijah in a gentle whisper. This is the heart of the whole recovery. God comes in tenderness. God isn't like human employers - He rescued me because He delights in me!! "Delight" isn't defined well in the dictionary but in a thesarus, it says; "laugh, smile, get a kick out of, hug oneself, purr (!!!), rave, bask in, wallow, enjoy, have fun, relish, entoxicate, ravish!".

"One glance of your eyes, my sister, my bride!" - from Song of Solomon. Imagine! Just once glance from us, the people of God, is enough to thrill God's heart!

THAT is the place of ultimate recovery, even more than the fireworks display. Just to hear Him say; "I love you!". Then He waits eagerly to hear if we respond! Unchanging love! Where is the joy that we used to know?

Terry ended by telling a story that I have heard before of his son who walked away from the Lord. And Terry and Wendy gave themselves to true spiritual warfare to 'get him back'. And the Lord heard and answered, and one night his son came in and there was a Bible sitting on the table. He put it down and couldn't stop reading it! He knew he had to get some sleep due to work tomorrow and told the Lord so. The Lord's response: "But we haven't spoken for ages".

At this point I lost all control I had left. The awesome, amazing, unchanging love of God! That we aren't told off or rebuked or condemned for being away from God for that time - but His response is: "But we haven't spoken for ages!".

And then finally Elijah got a new commission. He was to rise and go and anoint kings, and anoint Elisha - his disciple. God wanted another like Elijah! Failure didn't equal disqualification in God's eyes! Terry challenged me (well it felt like me, because he was looking at me!) - Who am I discipling? There is a job to be done. There is work that He has for me. And I can get up and leave my cave of safety, because GOD IS FOR US!

So what? ...

That's all very well you might say, its good to have an emotional response to these sort of events, but what of tomorrow? I managed to get speaking to the local Newfrontiers church leaders and have re-committed myself with a vengance to going back. I must go back! Part of keeping myself in the grace of God is being with His people and where His Spirit is present. And I'm excited - THATS an emotion I haven't felt connected to church for a year! I'm excited - because my Lover is going to be there! And He is excited that I'm going to be there (so Terry says!).

And secondly I have realised that my anger towards certain church leaders was masking fear. Anger is a bit more butch than fear isn't it. I am (or was) afraid of them and what they could do to me - fearful of their assessment of me (a sinner) . But what Terry's made me realise tonight is that my life is hid with Christ on high! And that their assessment of me doesn't matter one bit - because God's assessment of me is: "We haven't spoken for ages!". I am one excited guy tonight. And I've realise that there's no probation period. God isn't going to make me "prove" myself by having to clean the church toilets for 5 years before I get to do something for Him (although there's nothing wrong with cleaning toilets - I used to do it!). But that His Commission for me stands - He has work for me to do!

A friend of mine noticed that I used to send "WOWWWWWWWWWWW" emails quite a lot a while back - just glorying in the grace and wonder of God. And she noticed that there hadn't been any for a while! Well Nicky ... this one is just for you ...

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Birmingham SU "Disfellowships" Birmingham CU.

P.C gone mad or Conservative Evangelicals Getting Their Just Desserts?

I've been following the story of my old Christian Union with some interest and concern. It's attracted international interest, even getting a comment from Al Mohler. BUECU (Birmingham University Evangelical Christian Union) has had it's bank accounts frozen - some £4, 000 - and been officially removed as a recognised body by the Student Union after some problems with their constitution. The Times puts the problem as this:

"Members claim the actions have been taken against them after they refused on religious grounds to make “politically correct” changes to their charitable constitution, including explicitly mentioning people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered".

The official UCCF website puts it slightly differently but essentially the same:

"The Students Union at Birmingham University wanted to impose one of their own leaders onto the CU executive, open membership to people of all faiths and beliefs, and instructed the Christian fellowship to change its constitution. The Guild raised concern at the words "men" and "women", as it could be seen as excluding transsexual/transgender persons."

The CU have been advised to take the SU to court unless their funds are released.

I have an interest in this story because I went to the CU during my nursing training (1997 to 2001) and was Prayer Secretary on the Exec in 1999 so when I heard about this story I read the constitution again. Clause 5.1.1 restricts membership of BUECU to those who; "declare their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord and God. And understand and commit to the four aims of the CU". Those four aims are found in Clauses 3.1.1 to 3.1.4. Are they restrictive? Yes. But surely consistency has a place here. Would not Muslim societies, or Jewish societies or 'special interest' societies such as Jehovah's Witnesses demand similiar beliefs as part of their membership? (Although Guild President Richard Angell promises that all such groups have open membership criteria).

By the way - the PC-obsessed Student Union seem to anxious to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students at Birmingham University - yet I wonder if they have made a visit to the LGBT website. THEY restrict membership to: "anyone who self-defines as LGBT". I don't think you can get more restrictive than that! Although I cannot imagine anyone from BUECU been overly keen to join their membership.

The other problem identified has been the electing of the Executive. It has been practice for the out-going Executive to nominate members of the CU and then an AGM elects them. Clause 12.2 allows the out-going Exec to invite nominations from the membership "if they wish to". I don't recall that ever happening!

So ...

What's the big fuss? Well on the one hand, this seems to me to be breathtaking authoritarian and outrageous behaviour by the Student Union. They are being totally inconsistent. They must either freeze the accounts of ALL student groups who do not conform to this "open" policy in all matters - or they should apologise to BUECU and for heaven's sake give them back their money before this hits the courts.

The other thing that bothered me IMMENSELY was that it seems from the Guild minutes that their meeting with BUECU was taken in GERMAN! When asked why, the individual concerned said it was done "to see if anyone would read them". Upon a show of hands, it seemed only 5 people were fluent in German and had read them. This seems in extremely poor taste and is nothing short of disgusting behaviour particularly as a large amount of money is at stake, to say nothing of the 100+ strong feelings of the Christian Union.

On the other hand this blog has been following the story as well and some of the comments it has attracted do present the other side of the coin. One chap pointed out that this is NOT a unique event. He said:

"Durham CU has been unafiliated with their SU for several years. Warwick CU is also starting some sort of a process to reafiliate with it's SU. Both of these were kicked out/forced to leave due to similar reasons that the Birmingham guild decided to suspend their Evangelical CU".

Someone else suggested the CU should sue for membership in the LGBT forcing the Student Union to see the stupid inconsistency of their actions. Another commentator said:

"The situation in Birmingham is regrettable, but from what I've been able to find out it doesn't seem as if either party had been particularly proactive about seeking out the core issues and explaining them articulately. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon, but both sides are going to have to be willing to listen carefully and consider compromise".

I do worry that BUECU shouldn't be so quick to take the matter to court. I fully appreciate that there is an amount of money that has been illegally frozen, but the Times religious reporter pointed out that normally there is often a lot of caution when giving interviews for fear of the generated headlines. She pointed out that interviewing the SU President was a "dream" because he had no such fears. I would guess that similarly they would have no such fears in combatting the action in court, with aid from Evangelical-hating lawyers I have no doubt.

Whatever the outcome, I suspect it will not benefit the Christian Union in the long term. I have signed a petition to the University authorities and don't regret it. I think this has been handled terribly. A number of commentators have questioned the suitability of such a close relationship between the SU and the CU. I realise that there are huge implications such as not being able to meet on campus as well as financial implications - but if Evangelicals are going to make their stand on orthodox doctrine, then I think we must be willing to pay the price. It seems UCCF are funding a number of loans to help BUECU through this disaster (I suspect they are the ones urging the CU to deal with it in the courts as well) - maybe their money and time would be more well spent in helping establish the CU outside of and apart from the SU. Just a thought.

PS: Apparantly it is not just BUECU falling foul of the PC-mad SU. The National Blood Service were banned from advertising at the Birmingham Freshers Fair because they won't allow homosexuals men to donate blood!

"God's Agenda" by Ern Baxter - it's arrived!

Much thanks to Amazon and to Gavin for putting me on the trail of this awesome book. As it is Ern, I put most of my day on hold and have been reading it intensely! I was particularly interested in some detailed points he made on Ephesians 4 Ministries. I always knew he believed in all of them continuing today - however it is always exciting when one's heroes expound on their beliefs! Here is what he had to say:

"So the apostle is one who goes. He's mobile. The prophet is also one who goes. He is mobile because he should be with the apostle. Let me just drop this in your head - I believe in prophecy. In fact I believe in prophecy so strongly that I grieve over its misuse. This whole age is to be marked by prophecy! Both the Old and the New Testament declare, "and your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17). This is a prophetic age and we have all kinds of prophets around the country who feel that there needs to be a prophetic movement.

We don't need a prophetic movement. We don't need an evangelistic movement. We don't need an apostolic movement. We don't need a pastor-teacher movement. What we need is a God-movement.

Prophets will never function normally without the oversight of apostles. Whenever you have prophets cooperating to become something in themselves, they are violating God's very clear-cut order. "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets ...". The apostles Paul didn't say first and secondarily just to waste words. He was saying, "This is the order".

What about the evangelists? The evangelist is a "goer" too. He is to go into all the world and preach the evangel, the good news. The Bible doesn't say that the evangelist is to go into all the churches and hold campaigns. The evangelist belongs in the world. The apostle, prophet and evangelist are church planters.

How do these apostolic teams work? First they go into a virgin area. If an evangelist understands his job right, he will travel with an apostle and a prophet. He'll blast the stones out of the quarry and then he'll say to the apostle; "You build the house".

Apostles can be terribly... (I was going to say "boring") Why? Read the passages that talk about Paul going into the synagogue. One passage says; "And he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of 3 months disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8). Paul argued and debated with people hour after hour for three months! Apostles are long-winded. Apostles are not exciting people especially. Why? They have the most difficult job of building the house and putting it together.

An apostle is a master teacher. The apostle is the answer to God's construction intention in the earth. Now when the apostle, prophet and evangelist went into virgin territory - whereever it was, they planted churches. They did this in every place they went!

You will search the Scriptures in vain to find an apostolic company ever going back to the same place where they had planted a church to do the same work over again. If they went back to a city or a house church they went to encourage the Christians there, but never to plant it again. Why? Once the men plant a church then the second phase of evangelism sets in ... the body making an increase of itself. When the apostolic company in the Book of Acts left a city where they had planted a church, they left the city church in charge of elders".

So ...

I find this chapter very encouraging and amazingly prophetic in regards especially to the high quality teaching on Ephesians 4 Ministries that I have heard coming out of the ranks of Newfrontiers. I am suspicious that Dave Holden has read this book in light of his message on "Apostolic Mobility" at Brighton 2003 with Ern's particular use of Dave Holden's favourite word: "Mobile"! But more usefully I think both Ern and Dave Holden focus on the reason of Ephesians 4 Ministries, that often gets overlooked in the controversy and debate - that they are present to plant churches and take the gospel to the ends of the earth!