Photos from the Rufus's Visit to the Phillipines!!

One of the benefits of being a far-off fan of the Rob, Glenda, Ryan and Kylie Rufus is the tremendous excitement of seeing their wonderful ministry grow and develop as the grace message gathers momentum around the globe. Of course one of my aching frustrations is that I don't have the resources or a church to bring them back to the United Kingdom!

However thank God for the internet - and the fact we can enjoy and hear the wonderful message from afar. So there has just been a wonderful trip to the Phillipines (while celebrating Glenda's birthday - who I swear does NOT look the age she is!) and I'm looking forward to hearing the ministry.

Here's a few photos from the event - thanks to Glenda;

The Origin of All Worry - by Rob Rufus

A quick-fire quote from the amazing Rob Rufus that cuts right to the heart of ALL my current problems in life. This quote comes from a sermon I'm currently listening to - and I think it is the best summary of the Song of Solomon and it's place in the Christian's life - ever! (transcript of course will be coming here);

"The origin of all worry is the absence of certainty and deep assurance of His absolute intense and passionate burning love for you. When that revelation of His burning love for you comes - you know He will look after you. When you have that assurance of His love you can trust Him easily".

Rob Rufus - "Experiencing the Fire of God's Burning Love for You" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 6th March 2011

Transcripts Go Multi-Lingual!

I began transcribing initially as a personal activity I enjoyed and then began to realise that transcripts could serve a purpose in that some people who didn't have the time to sit and listen to audio sermons could read them. My two favourite preachers and heroes for transcribing are Ern Baxter and Rob Rufus as many know - mainly because of their prophetic commitment to Word and Spirit as well as their passion to see the gospel spread across the nations. I can never fail to listen to a sermon of theirs and come away untouched!

However of course I am aware that there are limitations on how far such published transcripts can go as I am not fluent in languages. Therefore it was a tremendous joy and excitement to me to begin emailing and get to know a fellow Rob Rufus and grace-lover called Bryan. He has very graciously and kindly copied one of my transcripts into German! It is now available here on the Rob Rufus blog that I have neglected for far too long.

The sermon was a monumental series called "Established in the Gift of Righteousness" that Rob preached in Hong Kong last year. It was of such help to me in working and training my mind to rid itself of 29 years of legalism and a series I need to read again and again! So I am so thrilled that German-speaking people can now begin to enjoy this sermon too!

Glory and Grace Conference - Hong Kong - 2010

Following information from Hong Kong:

"The Glory and Grace Conference 2010 is nearly upon us! We are very excited about this time and believe that it's going to be our best conference yet, with strong friendships and alliances being made and deepened; new strength and vigor coming to those who have been pressing forward in this great race, and greater doors of influence and momentum being opened up! I've sent you all the promotional posters and registration link as we would hugely appreciate if you could promote the conference within your sphere's of influence. Please stir people to come and to expect new levels of revelation in grace and insights into the glory of God.

This is the registration link with all relevant information: http://ccihk.com/en/conferences/glory-and-grace-2010

Speakers: Rob Rufus - www.ccihk.com

Andrew Wommack - www.awmi.net

Fini and Isi de Gersigny - www.jubilee.org.au"

A Defence of the Gospel of Grace - Rob Rufus - Part 1

This is Part 1 of what is possibly called "the most important sermon Rob Rufus has ever preached". It is essentially a response to 5 accusations made against him by other church leaders. Here is Part 1 where he introduces the subject;

"A Defence of the Gospel of Grace. (Rob Rufus' response to 5 accusations made against him)"

Sunday 9th May 2010 – City Church International.

"We are going to do a defence of the gospel of grace today and I will tell you why this gospel is worth defending. It is because the demonic is against grace. The devil is a controller. He is a bully and he does not want you to expand and grow in life. He wants to diminish you and dwarf you and contain you. But grace liberates, grace expands, grace gives energy, it edifies, it equips and takes us to new levels of life. The second reason why I am giving this message is that the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24; “Lord what will the sign be of Your coming again at the end of the age?”. He talks about earthquakes and famines and wars and we have seen that right now. But then He says in verse 14 – this will be the final and ultimate sign; “This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached as a sign to all nations and then the end will come”. So the ultimate and final sign of Jesus coming again is not a temple being built on the Dome of the Rock. It is not Israel back in the Land. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached to all nations (all ethnos) as a sign.

That could never have been fulfilled 500 years ago. There was hardly any remnant of the Gospel left on the planet 500 years ago because of the Dark Ages. The vast majority of the church then preached that you have to earn your salvation by keeping the law and most people couldn’t keep it good enough so virtually everyone had to go to Purgatory for maybe thousands of years and suffer flames and torment. If families paid money (indulgences) they could buy you out of Purgatory quicker and the church got rich on all of these lies.

I am not going to be critical today – I am just going to tell the truth.
I am not going to be critical – but I am not going to be a politician. I am going to be a prophet.

The church was controlled mainly by demons and took money from single women, single mothers to buy people out of Purgatory. They would light bonfires while they preached on Purgatory and say; “Look – your parents, your grandparents are in those flames”. They would take money from poor people for the church’s coffers! That is evil but it is called religion.

Martin Luther stood up over 400 years ago with a revelation that the just shall live by faith – justification by faith – and the Reformation began with Martin Luther. They tried to burn him – they tried to silence him. The devil opposed grace. Over the last 400 years the message of grace has been recovered and is being recovered. But it has not yet been fully recovered! The gospel of grace that Paul preached is NOT being preached in the majority of churches. That is a fact – it is not critical. It is just a fact.

They still mix law and grace together. So the attacks of the evil one against the message of grace is against the message, the messenger and the church that preaches the message. It is called “Slander”.

Let me ask you this question – did Paul the apostle go around the known world of that time ENCOURAGING people to sin? Did he go around the world encouraging people to do evil? No! Let me ask you another question – was he seriously and slanderously accused of preaching that message? Yes! But was he? No! But how could he be slandered for something that he wasn’t doing? It is called religious, political propaganda stirred up by demons. When you accuse someone of doing something they are not doing and you know it – that is religious, political propaganda. What did Paul do about it? Did he say; “Oh it doesn’t matter – I am so secure”. No. Let’s go to Romans chapter 3 and verse 8;

“Why not say--as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say--"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved”.

Now Rob – he is an apostle of grace. How can this be? If you slandered the gospel of grace that he preached he would bring condemnation down on your head. In Galatians 1 he says; “If you mix any law of Moses with the grace of God – you are not preaching the gospel at all” and he says; “May you be doubly cursed!”. So if everyone in the church world that loves the gospel and loves Jesus would stand up with the same heart of Paul and get rid of all politics and being sweet pastor-diplomats trying to cater to their religious constituents and stop seeking popularity with man but live to please God and condemn ANYTHING that adds ANY law to the message of grace then they will slander the message of grace with blatant lies!
How many want to hear what the five accusations are?

This is the most important message I have ever preached for thousands out there and for us.

Some of you may be sitting there and thinking; “What is the issue? I don’t know of any persecution or accusation!”. Praise God! Keep living that way! But witchcraft comes against you – whether you hear words from men – you are part of this church! Before I talk to you about the accusations I want to talk to you about how political spin works. People in the business world or the medical world or the real world out there – we are all very cynical of politicians putting political spin and we are getting to see through it.

But when it comes to religion – church goers are easily conned by religious political spin! That means you take something and put a spin on it. You take something that may be true and put a spin on it so it is now something other than was originally intended. If you look at the attacks and accusations against Stephen and Paul the apostle – when you hear what is said against them you think; “Yes but Stephen and Paul are saying that”. The accusers may say; “Stephen and Paul are speaking against the temple and the law of Moses”. You think; “Well yes they are”. But it is the twist and the spin they put on it that makes it look like what they are saying is sinister and evil and is raising rebellion against leaders and is encouraging licentious loose living and that is not what Paul and others are doing. I want you to understand that the reactions of some people are not because we are a cult but it is because we are not a cult and we are not weird and we are preaching the gospel – whereas so much out there is not the gospel and when the subnormal has been around too long then when the normal appears – they call it “abnormal”! I have lost friends for this gospel! Paul said I have lost “everything” for this gospel.

If you have lost nothing for this gospel – then you haven’t seen this gospel. Once you see this gospel it is like you are captured forever – you don’t have an option! You want to run away and you want to submit to demons and balance it with a bit of law but you can’t! It is actually impossible because once you are gripped by this gospel – you can’t change!

Martin Luther stood and wrote over all the indulgences on the wall (which was their Facebook of the day) and wrote; “All this is lies – the just shall live by faith” and he put the Word of God on there and they came to kill him. Because they could do it in those days. And trust me – if they could do it in these days then your pastor would be dead in no time at all! They came and grabbed Luther and commanded him to reject what he had just said. What he actually said was that the just shall live by faith and a gospel from God is revealed – a righteousness apart from the law and is by faith from first to last. They said; “Stop that or we will kill you!”. So he said; “Will you give me 24 hours to reconsider?”. He came back 24 hours later and stood before the religious hierarchy of the day and he said; “If you can show me from the Scriptures that I am wrong then I will recant – but if you cannot then this is where I stand and all else is sinking sand”.

What gave that man the courage? He was alone but we have thousands of grace people rising up around the world with us. He was alone! He didn’t recant. Someone wrote to me recently and said; “Rob I want to thank you so much for not recanting”.

Let’s look at how they put the spin on Stephen. Acts 6:8;

“8Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.
"
15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Within a short few hours of that they had stoned Stephen because he did not bow to their pressure. Look at Acts 13. Paul as a believer in Christ goes to a Jewish synagogue and when they see he is there, they ask him to speak. Big mistake! You don’t ask Paul the apostle to speak who knows the Bible better than anyone on the planet and has encountered Christ and knows the Old and New Covenant and is an expert! He gets up and gives a great discourse on the Jewish nation and begins to tell them about Jesus and says Jesus has freed us from everything that the Law could never free us from. In a Jewish synagogue!

So verse 38 of Acts 13;

38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41" 'Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.'[f]"

42As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God”.

44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Believe me friends – when the gospel is preached, people gather. If Hong Kong heard then we would not be able to find a stadium big enough to hold people and I tell you – that is the truth. Verse 45;

“45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy”.
It wasn’t a theological motive of truth that moved them. It was jealousy!
“46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly”.
They didn’t get political and speak carefully.
“ 46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you[g] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[h] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'[i]"
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

So they kicked them out too late! The city was full of people, full of the Holy Spirit and full of joy as the Word of God spread.

Now what jumped out at you there? Who threw them out the city? The Satan worshippers? The God haters? The atheists? No – the “God-fearing” women and the leaders of the city threw the messengers of grace.

They are not God-fearing in New Covenant terms. They are God-fearing by the old religious legalism and trying to prove how zealous you are for God. That’s what it is. In Durban South Africa – we are not opposed by Satan worshippers or atheists but by devout women and leaders of the city. Thank God they are few and are a minority and most are loving what we are about but those minority are making the biggest sound and trying to create the biggest fear and trying to control the situation. But it is too late – the Word of God has got in there and it is spreading further and further!

Go to the next Scripture which is Acts 21. This was the apostle’s last visit to Jerusalem. I shared a platform with Michael Eaton once and he said; “By this stage the gospel had been totally lost from Jerusalem – and in the coming years there were almost no believers in the gospel left. The believers and Christians were Gentiles because the Jews went completely back under the law”. When Paul comes to Jerusalem some of the brothers receive him warmly but James and the other elders are embarrassed by Paul being there. I will tell you why – the gospel of grace is always surrounded by controversy. Wherever this gospel is preached, there are signs and wonders, people get set free, people get saved but there is always controversy that surrounds the gospel of grace.

Now I want to say this to you – because this is important.

The Holy Spirit is not stirring up the controversy that surrounds the gospel of grace – rather it is demons.

In 2nd Corinthians 12 – Paul the apostle’s testimony is because of the exceeding revelation of grace, a messenger of Satan was sent to buffet him. It is not sickness friends – he says; “For everywhere I go, I have to endure insults, hardships and difficulties and persecutions because a demonic angel was assigned to continually buffet him and insult him and stir up wherever he went! Wherever he went people would run to the next village and stir up controversy – that is being stirred up by religious demons, Jezebel demons. If you don’t want the controversy to surround you – the same controversy that surrounded Jesus all the time and meant He was continually clashing with the orthodox believers. I am so tired of people coming out of a sweet little denomination and thinking that all controversy must be wrong and say; “Well if you love Jesus and follow Him then there shouldn’t be any controversy”. Well in that case Jesus can’t have been “Anglican” enough! Because everywhere He went – they hated Him!

So when you judge someone that has controversy surrounding them – don’t judge them because of the controversy but check their heart, check the fruit of their lives and their history and their doctrine. Don’t reject them because of controversy – otherwise you will have to reject Jesus! And you will have to reject Paul the apostle and Martin Luther and embrace heresy!

If you don’t want controversy to surround you because of this message and want to balance this message with a bit of law to make it palatable to religious types, then in order to do that then (whether you know it or not) you will have to submit to demons.

It is demons that are surrounding this message with controversy to frighten people off this message. Because we have naïve Christians around the world that think if you really love God then everyone should love you and your message shouldn’t cause division. The message of grace doesn’t cause division – demons and the flesh of man cause division. So they were embarrassed.

If you are a religious political pastor then you will see your church as your political constituency. And you think that if you have any controversy surrounding you then it could upset members of your congregation and then the big tithers could leave and then you have financial problems. So you want to keep everyone happy therefore you balance the message of grace so that your constitutional members keep happy with you. I promise you friend – whoever does that have submitted to demons of fear and to religious spirits of paranoia and control and then you bring it over your people.

I know preachers who are not like me and exhort and challenge. When they get in their pulpits they smile and be nice. But I don’t – I get veins in my neck and challenge; “Come on – live for eternity!”. They never do that! They always smile and look nice. But those same leaders have looked me in the face for an hour or more and have shouted at me and rebuked me and brushed me off.

I wish I had a secret camera inside filming their faces because the grace of God is exposing the demonic fear that is controlling them.

I could show it to their congregations on a Sunday morning and it could pop up and then they will see! I have got friends who are embarrassed about me because of the controversy. My Father in heaven loves me and is not embarrassed by me and is urging me to go more. But some friends are embarrassed by me and don’t want to see me. The church I planted in South Africa and Coastlands in Australia – the leaders are embarrassed by me and don’t want to be seen with me. There is too much controversy so they don’t phone me or answer my phone calls. They don’t respond to anything – they just cut me off. But they never talk to me with open Bibles or discuss what we are teaching. So people have to understand – am I here trying to win popularity votes to get on platforms of institutions and grow my church so it looks good? Or are we going to please God and not water this message down even though there is controversy that surrounds it?

The brothers were the ones who received him but it was the leaders who were under the demonic spirit of fear. Acts 21:17;

“17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law”.

That lets you know straight away that James and they are not preaching the gospel anymore. Because Galatians 3 says there is neither Jew nor Gentile under the law if they come to Christ and;

Romans 10:4 says Christ is the end of the law to all who believe. In chapter 9 he very clearly says that the reason why the Jewish people did not gain righteousness because they sort after righteousness that is through the law.

There is no righteousness through the law and there is no righteousness after the law.

Yesterday I was listening to Terry Virgo and he says we are saved by grace and then he said there are many people that teach that we are sanctified by the law. He said that is a lot of nonsense! He said we don’t have anything to do with the law – we are dead to the law – Christ is the end of the law and sanctification is by grace by the Spirit of God!

So they are preaching a false gospel in Jerusalem and they are embarrassed by Paul’s true gospel.

Please don’t think that just because someone is an apostle they always preach a true gospel. Paul had to rebuke Peter the apostle to his face because he deviated from the true gospel.

They are all zealous for the law – these converts. Acts 21:21;

“21They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses”

Who informed him – he was hundreds of miles away!? This rumour spreads very fast! They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles telling them not to circumcise their children! These four men pressurised Paul to go through Old Covenant, purification rites when he knew that the blood of Jesus had cleansed him completely. If you submit to people under the law through fear – then let me tell you;

The issue is not about law and grace. The issue is about who controls the church. If you mix law and grace together then leaders or man controls the church. If you take the law completely off (as you should do) then the Holy Spirit controls the church.

That doesn’t mean to say you don’t have leaders – but they are empowering leaders, who empower a royal priesthood. Not controlling.

They are not managers – they are the liberators of God’s people.

So Paul unwisely submits to these purification ceremonies and we are told in verse 27;

“27When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." 29(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)

The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks”.
Here are unsaved Roman soldiers saving Paul from Jewish converts. Secular people saving Christians from the Christians!

“35When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!"
Friends let us stop being naïve and stupid about this. The violence, the attempts to kill – it all stems from law and legalism. If people mix ANY law and legalism in, they are making room for fear and control.

They are so frightened of this message – they are frightened of losing control!

I have had people shouting in my face the most rude and horrible things and with tears running down my face - I am not feeling sorry for myself but I am bleeding inside because I am thinking how wretched this law/grace mix is and what it does because it makes an intelligent person so broken and angry. That is that spirit friends! Be under no illusion that it operates like that!
And you give into their bullying tactics and you will find that first you fit in – you will be paid for and you are in the club. You will get big black boards. But if you dare preach the gospel that Paul preached you will first be asked sweetly to be more accountable and then finally you will see the brutally cruel face of religious demons.

We are not fighting against religious men and women here. We are not fighting against names. I am just telling you that behind those names I have seen something manifesting. All my Christian life I have never wanted to be a trouble causer. I have compromised my conscience and tried to fit in with the movement I was in. I just thought I was wrong and they were right and I honoured and submitted and honoured and submitted. But finally it went too far and I had to say that I could not submit any longer – I had revelation – and when you say that you will see what the reaction is.

There is a lot I could say that may look like I am indulging myself and defending myself. I would love to and there is a lot I could say. I am not even meant to have all this information but it does get to me somehow. I want to give you an example as to how a bit of spin works. One month after our conference in Pinetown – our “Increased Glory” conference, there was another conference a few kilometres up the road with a whole lot of people. And a good friend of mine was one of the speakers there. And during one message he said;

“The reason why Rob said many unhelpful things while he was in South Africa is because he has a predisposition to legalism that was evidenced in his pre-conversion days when he joined the Hare Krishna movement”.

Now the Hare Krishna movement is a strict law-based religion demanding celibacy even though you are married, vegetarianism, sleeping 4 hours a night, out on the streets every day trying to make converts to Krishna consciousness. I was a zealot – a legalistic follower of religion.

And then he got a good laugh out of everyone at my expense and then he said that he could never say those unhelpful things that I said because he doesn’t have those legalistic tendencies and didn’t have that background and he said he wants to help Rob and see Rob and “sort him out”. Well the next time I saw him, he didn’t sort me out and we didn’t even open Bibles. Everyone is saying that they are talking to me with open Bibles but they are not. That statement he made begs the question; “If I had legalistic tendencies before I became a Christian then what are we going to say about the legalist of all legalists? Paul the apostle in his pre-conversion days, he says in Philippians 3; “According to legalistic righteousness I was faultless”. Paul was totally gripped by them all – then because he was so gripped by legalistic tendencies that we can’t trust the New Testament because he must be saying lots of unhelpful things!

I want to tell you who are the champions of grace today – not people who have benign Baptist or Presbyterian religion. They are not the champions of grace today because they have diluted law and diluted grace. So they never saw the bankruptcy of the law because the laws they were given were so low that you could kind of keep them and feel self-righteous. But when you are Paul the apostle and have lived with the strictest code of the law – moral and ceremonial – when you have lived under that for years and done it with all your might then you realise that it is absolutely bankrupt and cannot help a human being – it absolutely destroys you!

Paul says; “When I was under law – I was a blasphemer and a violent man”. He writes that to Timothy. As a man he consented to Stephen’s stoning and his death. In Acts we find him given permission from the high priest to go to Damascus and grab the Christians – the people of grace – and put them in jail. And it says he was “breathing out threats”. Now you are hearing of a very zealous, angry, violent, legalistic man – and he bumped into Jesus! And listen to what Jesus said to him – bearing in mind he was going to persecute the people of grace. “Saul, Saul why do you persecute Me?”.

To attack the message of grace is to persecute Jesus.

People sit there in a conference and hear that and think; “Oh yes, yes, Rob does have a predisposed problem”. But Paul was a legalist before. I phoned my friend actually and he said he was actually defending me. I said; “Praise God – thank God you were defending me” but a whole lot of my friends who were sitting in the meeting said that they nearly pulled their hair out with anger – they could not believe what he said. So I said;

“I love you man – you are one of my closest friends but you weren’t defending me. You empowered people into a deception of opposing the grace message”. And I said; “You haven’t sorted me out – not one of you guys have come with open Bibles and showed me and showed me where you think I am wrong”. Why? Because they know they cannot stand against the Spirit and the revelation that is in me. No one! Not one has done it!

To be continued ...

Rob Rufus's MOST Important Sermon Ever?!

I was interested and excited to get this email from Ryan Rufus - Rob Rufus's son and fellow elder - in City Church International in Hong Kong (by the way I highly recommend the new City Church International website here) today.

"My father Rob Rufus preached probably the most important message of his life last Sunday (9 May). He presented a Biblical defense for the gospel of grace and took on 5 accusations that have been made against him and those who believe in this gospel. It's probably the best I've ever heard him preach and was powerful, authoritative and compelling. This message will bring such encouragement and empowerment to those around the world standing for this message and facing persecution for it! I would like to encourage as many people to have a listen and then please please please send the link on to everyone you know that would benefit from this message.

People will either get sad, mad or incredibly glad when they hear this truth.

Follow the link below to listen or download:

"A Defense of the Gospel of Grace. (Rob Rufus' response to 5 accusations made against him)".

Also, Anneline Breetzke recently wrote a powerful song called 'Grace Revolution'. She sang it on Sunday. You'll be truly blessed by this! Click the link below to listen:

http://ccihk.com/media/audio/2010/2010_05_09_1.mp3

We'd also just like to encourage all of you who are preaching this gospel of pure grace to keep going for it! You have our support and we know we have yours. Lets stand together in His grace and continue to be bold with this message no matter what we face or go through! It's all worth it for millions around the world are coming into freedom.

God bless

Ryan and Kylie Rufus".

I haven't heard the sermon yet - but it will definately be next on my list to transcribe. I wonder how you and I will react to this sermon. Will we get sad, mad or incredibly glad?!

Awesome Blessings from Hong Kong!!

Most who know me will know that I tend to go on quite a bit about what I am currently passionate about. Some call it flighty. Others suggest it at least avoids the error of lukewarmness! However on my recent Easter visit back to Bristol my parents commented that I don't talk as much about Hong Kong and City Church as much as I used to. This was true. Last year was a pretty terrible year and part of that was a series of disappointments with Hong Kong that I don't need to go into. But Pete Day and I spoke about this when we met recently and agreed that we CANNOT allow our personal disappointments to stop us from receiving the downloads of glory teaching that come from City Church International and Rob and Ryan Rufus in particular.

So recently I have been working slowly but surely to get back into listening to the sermons and also start transcribing again. And WHAT a blessing it is! I've only transcribed two sermons this year so far - Rob Rufus on; "Imperfect Faith Can STILL Bring You Face to Face with Jesus!" and have just finished today an incredible sermon by Ryan Rufus called; "Activating the Prophetic". It is this sermon I particularly want to draw attention to because I learned so much from it.

Ryan split the sermon between some teaching on the prophetic - and then moved into actually prophesying. He said that it was only in the "demonstration of the prophetic" that more prophetic activity would be birthed. I must confess he had a point - I've heard countless academic sermons on the prophetic by men such as Sam Storms or Wayne Grudem. But hearing someone prophesy is incredibly stirring - that's why I love hearing Terry Virgo or John Groves prophesy so much.

Ryan taught that prophecy brings edification, exhortation and comfort.

"Edify – that is what the prophetic does. “Edify” means “House” and “To build”. Or to “build the house of God”. The prophetic word is to build the house of God. It speaks mainly about the present. Edifying is building up the house of God in the now.

Exhort – which is “one side” and “a calling to”. To exhort someone and come alongside them and is prospective – for the future. To put courage and strength in someone for the future.

Comfort – is the same word as exhort but is in retrospect. For trials experienced and the prophetic can bring comfort to them. It takes away pain and grief and brings explanation and strengthens those people.

The prophetic therefore speaks to the past, present and future".

Essentially the key thing about the prophetic is that when we prophesy the words of God - we are actually speaking CREATIVE words of life! Ryan spoke about how actually vital it is to prophesy over our own lives in private in our secret places - and Rob Rufus (who got up to speak briefly after Ryan) said the same thing - that Rob manages to survive demonic oppression and turmoil by prophesying truth and creative power over his life. I was so challenged - I think in our evangelical desire to be "decent and in order" - we haven't tested the full power of the prophetic gift to it's fullest. Why else would Paul the apostle COMMAND us in the New Testament to desire spiritual gifts ESPECIALLY prophecy?

As I mentioned Rob Rufus got up to speak briefly after Ryan - and ended up prophecying. And while typing and listening - I experienced yet again one of "those" moments when 1 Corinthians 14 was fulfilled and the "secrets of my heart" were exposed. Here's what Rob prophecied;

"I have a word of prophecy for someone here today; you have become cynical and sceptical and you feel it is normal and acceptable because of legalism in your past and the religious church world that you have rejected. You don’t almost feel that church is relevant anymore and so you are sceptical and cynical. And the Lord says in a loving way; “You feel this is okay because the religious world and legalism is so bad that you now can live cynically about church”.

The Lord says; “The reason you are cynical is not because of the religious world – it is because you don’t believe totally the gospel of pure grace. Those that believe the truth are set free by the truth and people who understand that the church of Jesus Christ is very precious to Jesus – even if she’s got problems, even if she’s got the law there still, even if she has bondages – she is PRECIOUS to Jesus”. And the criticism of His church and His body is not the truth and the Lord breaks off you this day – that cynical spirit and releases unto you a spirit of faith to believe the true gospel of grace and to love the body of Christ in ALL the church throughout the WHOLE world!”.

I admit freely I have struggled with cynicism towards the church (and Sovereign Grace Ministries churches in particular) thanks to my experiences in Bristol. But this prophetic word undid me and exposed what I have been doing. I have defended my cynicism and suspicion thanks to that unpleasant experience with those SGM church leaders - but actually the issue is - I DON'T believe the gospel of pure grace properly! The church - the whole church - every part of it (yes including those belonging to C J Mahaney and Mark Driscoll) are part of the beloved Bride of Christ and will be part of the end-time glorious church!

I am so thankful for the true prophetic word that reveals your heart! It does so lovingly and without judgement and truly and definately sets free! I really urge everyone who shares an interest in the prophetic to read this sermon transcript from Ryan.

Imperfect Faith Can STILL Bring You Face to Face with Jesus!! - Part 1

Over the past year or so I've been struggling to keep up transcribing the various preachers and teachers, apostles and prophets that I love. To some it may not be a big deal - but I should make it clear I always transcribed sermons for my own spiritual benefit. I tend to absorb truth and revelation far better when I type it or write it than merely listening. My hyper-active imagination doesn't listen very well alone. However with my changing jobs, new daily routines and the various other interesting things that life has chucked at me recently, transcribing has been ... hard.

However Pete Day and I were able to meet (another regretfully too-rare occurance) recently in London at his church and we expressed our mutual frustration with life. We re-committed to living and breathing the gospel of grace. Nothing is more vital! My fierce grace-warrior friend Julie made quite a startling statement the other day that really stuck with me. She said on Facebook;

"The devil hardly bothers tempting me with 'sin' anymore...because he knows that even if I give in, I won't give in to condemnation!".

Some may disagree with previous discussions on indwelling sin etc - but what if Julie was right? What if the devil had a SOLE aim when tempting and attacking Christians? What if that aim was nothing to do with luring them into lust or into murder or into homosexuality - or all the other sins that the church loves to hate? What if the SOLE "main thing" of the devil's campaign was to cause Christians to lose their faith in a loving and gracious God?

I felt a key sermon of Rob Rufus's to begin transcribing was one entitled "“Imperfect Faith Can Still Bring You Face To Face With Jesus” that he preached at City Church International in November last year. So many of us believe that to encounter Jesus in manifest glory or to see signs and wonders and miracles following our ministry, we need to have the faith of a Paul the apostle, of a Kathryn Kuhlman, a Terry Virgo or a Rob Rufus.

Here's Part 1:

"Let’s open to 2nd Corinthians chapter 1. I am so excited about this message that I have just got to control myself. We are getting an increasing number of emails from around the world from people thanking us for our stand on grace and some emails you think are exaggerated. The gratitude has shifted from simply thanking me to thanking the people of City Church International. There are tens of thousands of people out there realising it is not simply about preaching a message but a message being embodied and incarnated in a people.

The price you pay to stand for a message of grace when there are anti-grace spirits – grace-hating spirits that want to discourage and confuse us and cause difficulties are realising that the price we are paying is producing life for the churches out there.

There is an apostolic thing Paul speaks about where he says; “We die daily that you may experience life”. We are experiencing life here in abundance but there is a price in our stand that is causing thousands of people around the world to take hope and come out from guilt, condemnation, law and bondage into freedom of grace in Christ Jesus. People are moving from a mixture of Old and New Covenant through the finished work of the Cross into the liberty of the blessing of the New Covenant. So they are getting revelation – a theological revolution. Churches and regions are being changed! Our 5 and a half years has literally impacted nations around the world. I can’t read all of them to you because they speak of details and I don’t want to reveal their names. Years of pressure, performance and guilt – and they all speak about coming into the freedom found in Jesus Christ! And they all mention you guys!

I want to talk about how imperfect faith – even imperfect faith – can bring you face to face with Jesus, into supernatural encounters with the Presence and power of God.

I want 2nd Corinthians to be a foundation to what I say;

2 Corinthians 1:2-4; “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort … that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”.

Within your sorrow is a seed that becomes the life and key that unlocks other people out of the pain of their problems.

If we don’t understand that the pain we go through and the sorrow we experience are to gain deeper intimacy with the comfort of God, that we would see our calling is to comfort people in their troubles by the comfort we receive in our troubles. If we don’t understand this then sooner or later we will allow our troubles and sorrow to define us. When we allow trouble to define us we become melancholic, morbid and very negative people.

The way to make the devil pay for the trouble he puts on you is to see your troubles as becoming a seed of grace that you can sow into someone else’s life.

Many people are within you that will benefit from the comfort you experience in your trouble and your understanding of the goodness of God to bring that comfort into their lives.

When a woman has a baby, she forgets the pain because inside that pain is a treasure that is given to someone else.

If we forget this then we think that pain, sorrow and difficulties are there to just to talk about all the time. That is like a mother getting off the birthing table and disregarding the baby there and going to the phone and calling all her family and friends and relatives and telling them about the terrible pain she has been through without once mentioning the baby! She has forgotten that the pain is not about trouble itself, but within the trouble is a seed of grace for someone else. In your trouble there is a life-saving seed of grace for someone else.

I have been counselled in the lowest moments of my life by two groups of people. Those who have ideals, never been through trouble or pain and have lots of Bible verses to quote and lots of inexperienced knowledge. When you have come out of their presence you feel worse! The other people bear the scars of pain, disappointment and difficulties and when they comfort you they sow seeds of grace into your life so you are freed up from self-pity, discouragement, deception that was trying to take you out in your disillusionment.

We are a people that don’t teach that if you have faith you will not go through trouble. Paul the apostle went through all kinds of troubles but he said; “These are working for me an exceeding weight of glory! Compared to the weight of glory they are building up for me – these troubles are light and momentary afflictions”. So we don’t say if you have faith, you won’t go through trouble. We are saying if you have faith you will find the God of all comfort in your trouble that will make you a humble, tender-hearted person that will sow grace into other people’s trouble.

Turn to Mark chapter 5. Let’s bow our heads in prayer – I can really sense the Presence of God here and the presence of angels. When Glenda was getting up to give the announcements I could feel the angelic presence in this room.

“Father we want to thank You for assigning angels to minister in this room – the ministers of winds and fire – we ask they would refresh the people of God. We want to thank You for Your greatest and most wonderful gift – Jesus Christ Your Son. Every spiritual blessing we have is in Christ Jesus. We thank You that every promise you have made to us are YES in Christ Jesus. Holy Spirit we invite You to come and reveal Jesus in this place, reveal Your glory – that we would know that abiding place of intimacy – that we in our sorrows would be able to discover the seed of grace to sow into other people’s lives here in Hong Kong and around the world”.

I want to read this passage in Mark 5 because it is my favourite passage for speaking on the transference of the anointing. But I don’t want to look at it from that point of view today, but a different point of view and I believe some gold nuggets will come out of this today that will bring you into a greater place of intimacy with Jesus Himself. I will draw your attention to certain phrases and words and will comment on them.

(v21); “21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. 25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse”.

The Bible honours doctors as do we but here it didn’t work for this dear one.

27 “When she heard about Jesus”

That is the pivotal phrase for this message. She had never met Him or been in His meetings, she had just heard about Him.

“She came behind Him”.

Also very important – she didn’t come in front of Him to His face. She came behind Him.

“In the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him”.

She came behind Him but now was before Him.

34 And He said to her, “Daughter”.

That is identity.

“Your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

The Greek is literally; “Go into peace”. “Soterio” – completeness, salvation, protection. Go into peace – you have been made well. God wants to make your emotions, your soul, your spirit, your finances, your relationships well. Go into soterio “daughter”. Your faith has made you well!

35 "While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James".

Very pivotal – only Peter, James and John.

39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40 And they ridiculed Him.

What does Jesus do with people who ridicule His faith?

“But when He had put them all outside He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age”.

The lady who had the bleeding, had it for 12 years. The little girl was 12. It is not a coincidence.

“And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat”. (chapter 6:56); “Wherever He entered into villages … they begged Him that they could touch the hem of His garment and as many touched Him were made well”.

Now in the previous chapter we saw thousands touching Him and none were healed or experienced what this one woman experienced. The seed of her 12 years of sorrow became a sowing of grace into multitudes of thousands of people that found a way to touch Him differently to the way they had touched Him before. God hasn’t caused any tragedy or trouble in your life – it is the devil behind that. He turns that sorrow into a seed of life that unlocks someone else out of the pain of their problems. She had never met Him or been in one of His meetings. Many who read the gospels (and I have thought this) if only we could have been on the earth when He walked it and could have been in His meetings and heard His gracious words from His mouth or seen His face as He spoke of the love of His Father and the Kingdom coming to earth! Oh if only I could have heard Jesus speak and been on the front row within touching distance!

This lady was in none of His meetings and had never met Him – only HEARD about Him! What could she have heard? Never anything about the Moses law concerning Him. John 1 says the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Leviticus 15 says any woman any woman with an issue of blood is forbidden from going into a public place. The sentence is immediate stoning and Jarius – the synagogue ruler – had authority to exercise that and he was right there next to Jesus. Leviticus says a woman going into a public place makes everywhere she goes unclean and everything she touches she makes unclean. But this woman touched Jesus in her unclean state and was healed! What did she hear about Jesus?

She would have heard that this rabbi was touching unclean people.

Lepers were being touched by Jesus and being healed. Under the law leprosy was considered unclean. Jesus touched lepers and laid His hands on lepers and they were immediately healed. Jesus went into the synagogue where a woman was bound over for 18 years with a demonic spirit and the synagogue rulers were teaching the law to her – and the law was telling her you are crippled because you failed the law. Jesus came in and called her a daughter of Abraham – because 430 years before the Law Abraham was a covenant of grace! He said; “You are a daughter of Abraham – you ought to be healed on the Sabbath day”. He laid His hands on her and she straightened up. She would have heard that Jesus laid His hands on a prostitute called Mary Magdalene and when Jesus laid His hands on Mary, the Bible says seven devils came out of her and she was set free from prostitution. She would have heard some marvellous things.

Now – when the crowd was touching Jesus, why weren’t they healed? Why weren’t they changed or benefited? They hadn’t heard about Jesus the way this woman had heard about Jesus. They would have heard He was a rabbi and was demanding you keep standards to earn and deserve.

But when they found out that an unclean woman actively breaking the Levitical law touched Him and was healed, the multitudes from that day began to touch Him in a different way – and you could say that the seed of her sorrow was a seed of grace that influenced thousands of people to get healed in the very next chapter!

The more people that touched Jesus differently, the more people will see that the seed of our sorrow is becoming a seed of grace to touch thousands of churches around the world and touch thousands of people in Hong Kong. It is very important that people hear about the true Jesus. A lot of people struggle to have faith for healing. I am not sure if I even understand faith anymore. Kathryn Kuhlman had a ministry that got far more people healed and some of the worst crippled people and blind people – thousands of them. She said;

“I don’t understand faith but I know my wonderful Jesus suddenly comes and fills the room and people get healed without me even praying for them!”. I don’t think it’s about faith for hearing as much as hearing about the true Jesus.

I believe this woman had imperfect faith – how do I know that? She came behind Him, not to the front of His face. Under the law you couldn’t see the face of God. Moses said; “God – show me Your glory!”. God said; “No man can see My face and live so I will hide you in the cleft of the rock and will walk by and you will see My hind parts”. She had imperfect faith – she came to His hind parts. She heard about Jesus and touched Him and the next minute she was healed, and the next minute He was calling her to His face. Through grace God in Christ came to reveal His face to humanity. Imperfect faith came to touch His hind parts like Moses. But once she was healed, she was called to His face and when she looked into His face the first thing she heard was “Daughter”. God said “Daughter”.

I also know something very special here – we must understand something. What we say about Jesus. People think I criticise everything that moves under the sun and some have called me a divisive man. Someone has to get passionate! Someone has to get stirred up and a righteous anger because multitudes of mesmerised, hypnotised Christians sit in pews having been sold a bill of lies Sunday after Sunday, century after century with arrears of doctrinal deception about God. We have got people saying that God makes you sick to make you more holy! People want to know why we don’t see more healings – we have got hundreds of years of the traditions of men that have deceived people into unbelief and have misrepresented Jesus. The devil is behind it! “Did God really say?”. I have done all the things wrong and have preached things wrong and have misrepresented God in my past.

But when I came to Hong Kong I was determined to faithfully reveal the New Covenant and the true nature of God where the people of God are in New Covenant and no longer under law and are in 100% grace and grace alone with no condemnation to those that are in Christ. I said I am going to do that God no matter how much I am mis-understood and I am going to hold my line".

Part 2 to follow soon I hope!

Back to Transcribing - Rob Rufus and Stanley Jebb!!

As many of you know my transcribing has been through a quiet patch - it is so incredibly difficult finding the time to sit down with a glorious sermon and type it out. Working 07:30 to 18:30 many days followed by an intense gym session (I'm training for a half marathon at the end of the month in Brighton!) - it is so hard to find the time! I hate that excuse. I've never had any patience with pastors who have told me that they can't do this or do that because they are "too busy" - but am slowly beginning to understand how busy life can often be.

However I've started two transcribing projects - one is a sermon by the wonderful Rob Rufus. I neglect this servant of God at my peril. It sounds over the top - but hell does not want anyone listening to Rob. He has such an insight into the doctrines of grace that the devil will do anything (including sowing suspicion, lies about him and City Church International) to just stop hearing what he preaches! But everytime I do listen to Rob - my soul is immeasurably blessed. I am typing his message: "“Wisdom for 2010” - the first sermon of 2010 on the 3rd of January 2010 at City Church International.

I love the opening sermons of the year at City Church International - it often lays down the gauntlet for what to expect from the year and this sermon is no different. Rob starts by making a statement about what he expects from 2010. A small part of me cringes when preachers make prophetic statements about what God may do. That's no fault on the part of the preachers. That is a fault on my small faith. I am scared of daring to believe. But Rob said;

"But I am deeply impressed after five weeks of waiting on God – I am deeply impressed that 2010 is a year of blessings that will surpass ANY previous year for the people of grace! You could say that is one of those optimistic, New Year hopes again! No – no. I am believing that for 2010 the will of God is to bring unprecedented blessings for the people of grace that is beyond any previous year we have EVER experienced! That will always be with difficulties and hardships. The blessings will cause many more hardships to come at you but you will be so blessed you will handle it well!"

Rob then moved on to state what he feels will be the devil's main strategy in 2010;

"I am also deeply impressed by the Spirit of God when the enemy’s main strategy and main plot will be to con us through false wisdom out of the blessing. I pray that everyone who listens to this message hears this – the enemy’s main strategy will be to con us through false wisdom or fake wisdom or worldly wisdom or “human” (1st Corinthians) wisdom or the “wisdom of this age” – to give us convincing cons as to what we should do and he will try to get us out of place and position for the unprecedented jubilee of God".

Again I think there is a balance here that is truly biblical. C S Lewis saw it and portrayed it accurately in his "Screwtape Letters". Some Christians completely ignore the devil's presence and blame all hardships, failures and down times on our "flesh" or I guess SGM may call it "indwelling sin". Essentially if something is going wrong in your life then it's your fault and your sin to blame. The other extreme is the more triumphalistic charismatic stream that blame every hardship on a demon of something or other (Derek Prince perhaps typified this teaching best) - and the way to handle this is to exorcise "everything".

I think Rob strikes a mature and sensible balance. There IS a devil and he DOES have an army of demons who ARE actively present in trying to bring down Christians. Rob makes the case that the devil doesn't really care what the issue is he assaults us with. He isn't bothered if Christians live an immoral life or a deceitful life. What he is bothered about is that we lose faith in God. And Rob defines faith as;

"Faith is a good opinion about God. If you have any suspicion towards God then you are listening to a demonic voice; “Did God really say?”.

A good opinion about God. Some Christians may be shocked at that - how can we not have a good opinion about God? But the question is - who do we normally blame when things are tough? Some Christians even dare to say things like; "I'll trust God IF He does this for me". No - true faith is having a good enduring opinion about God and never asking; "Did God really say ... ?".

And being a true gospel preacher Rob then expounded the wonders of the Cross of Christ like I've never heard before. Read this:

"Faith is easy when we have a clear picture of Christ crucified.

1. He wore a crown of thorns so that you and I can wear a crown of glory!

2. On the Cross He was rejected so that you and I can forever and ever be sons of the Father.

3. On the Cross HE looked up and His Father wasn’t there, so that forever we can look up forever the smiling face of our Father is there – after our worst sin, the smiling face of the Father will ALWAYS be there, because that sin was put on Jesus and the face of the Father was withdrawn from Jesus. The great exchange means that forever we can look up and our Father’s face will NEVER not be there and will always be smiling!

It is impossible for Father to withdraw His face! If He ever does then He must implode into oblivion and to nothingness and non-existence because He has violated the law of double jeopardy and has lost all credibility. He cannot punish the same sin twice! Father is permanently there with love and favour and position to desperately want to bless you if you will repent and change your thinking and return to grace!

4. He was made your sin so you may be made His righteousness.

5. He died young so that you can live long.

6. He created the heavens and earth and on the Cross lost everything so we can gain everything! We gain the universe the New Testament says!

7. One of the last things Jesus saw was His garments being gambled over by soldiers while He hung naked so we can be clothed in favour.

8. He took our curse so that we can receive His blessings. In all these things, persecutions, disappointments, betrayals we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us! We rest in the finished work of the Cross!".

True Cross-centered preaching will inevitably build faith. How can we not look at the Cross of Christ in it's true glory and not have a good opinion about God? The trouble is I have sat through too many allegedly "Cross-centred" sermons that are nothing to do with the true Gospel because those sermons raised condemnation and produce legalism and "lists of things" to do. I love the way that Rob Rufus broke down why the Cross was the master plan of God - to bring about the salvation of many!

I've taken up too much time - other than to say that the other sermon I am working on is a recent sermon of Stanley Jebb's that he preached at a church near Southampton on worship. It's interesting to hear. I hope to publish Rob's sermon soon!

New Nature Publications!

There's nothing more appropriate at the beginning of a New Year than reminding all of the availability of books on grace through City Church International's publishing arm - "New Nature Publications". And also a reminder - I have a stock of books here in the UK that can easily and freely posted to anyone interested! Just email me at CharismaticDan@yahoo.com.

Here is a new advert from Hong Kong!

How Do We Nullify Negativity in Our Lives?

Rob Rufus spoke recently on the danger of negative thinking in our lives. He made a hugely important point - and it's one I've been thinking about a lot recently. In "days of small things" - or in days when nothing much seems to be tangibly happening in the spiritual realm, how do we respond? How do we react? Do we stick to methodically preaching and expounding? Or do we continue hungering and thirsting after God Himself? Rob said:

"How do we position ourselves to let that wonderful miracle take place? I have come to the conclusion after 30 years of being a pastor that nothing in the Kingdom transacts or happens unless you come under the hovering, moving, manifestation of supernatural Holy Spirit. Nothing can happen unless Holy Spirit's manifest power comes tangibly over your life - for the Kingdom is in the Holy Spirit".

Sermon: "How Do We Nullify the Negative Things in Our Lives?" - City Church International, Hong Kong - 11th October 2009.

When was the last time you felt His tangible, manifest Presence? It was never meant to be a "special" or "unique" thing. Experiencing Him is meant to be a normal, supernatural part of every day life. Oh for more, so much more of Him!

True Godly Greatness!

A quote from Rob Rufus's new book "Invading the Impossible";

"We were never called to be mediocre. We were called to be great men and women of God! The Bible does not call great - "perfect". The Bible reveals great men and women whose imperfections and failures were clearly recorded. I sometimes think "God aren't You ashamed of the things we do?". No! God does not call greatness, "perfection". Men and women's imperfections are recorded but instead of disqualifying them, it instead reveals God's greatness and perfection through them.

Don't measure your greatness by people's responses to you. Some people are so preoccupied with smallness that they cannot even see you are on a journey to greatness. All they see is your history because they are over familiar with you. You have heard God tell you about your greatness! If you haven't, it isn't because He hasn't spoken, because He is speaking to every believer about "greatness" and every - includes YOU!".

Let's do something "great" (as God understands it) today!

A Box FULL of Glory!!

It was a thrill to come home from work today and find the postman had delivered a box full of Rob Rufus's latest book; "Invading the Impossible!" - direct from Hong Kong!

As with Ryan's two books - if you live in the United Kingdom and would like to get hold of one of these three awesome books then please do drop me an email and I would be thrilled to ship one or any of them to you.

The "Invading the Impossible" series was a particularly significant and life-changing series for me. Rob preached it in the early part of 2008 at City Church International and it was put into book format. Rob Rufus deals with these issues in this book:

1. Enjoying the Benefits of the Resurrection Power of Jesus.

2. The Designer's Original.

3. The Revolution has Begun - Overthrowing the Spirit of Control!

4. Lifting the Limitations - a Mirror Mentality vs a Window View.

5. No Regrets!

6. Dealing with Disappointment.

7. Authority to Invade.

8. Invading by Reigning.

9. Let God Impress You - (a powerful prophecy to Rob).

I can't urge you enough! Read this book! Listen to the sermon series! It is dangerous!

New Nature Publications on You-Tube!!

Just got back from an awesome weekend away in Brighton - to find this:



Awesome!! Get over to the website and get browsing - this is only going to grow!!

New Nature Publications!!

I am so tremendously excited to report that Ryan Rufus's new publishing company - "New Nature Publications" - has just gone live on the internet offering an awesome vision along with products and resources from City Church International and others to "rain grace upon the nations"!

Ryan's two incredible books; "Sanctification by Grace" (that I've just finished reading for the tenth time!) and "Do Christians Still Have a Sinful Nature?" are available there along with ...

A new book by Rob Rufus called "Invading the Impossible!"

The vision is this;

"The vision of New Nature Publications is to provide an ever increasing amount of grace resources to churches and people across the planet and to see those churches and people come into the fullness of His glorious grace. Our desire is that the lost will find these resources irresistible as well, as they encounter gracious grace filled people who are getting these resources out!"

I do urge you all to go have a browse! This is an awesome answer to prayer for all those who hunger and long for a people of reality and grace to arise in the earth and start showing the lost that not all religion is hypocrisy and legalism!

Fight by the Prophecies Given ...

I can't imagine how I missed this! Rob Rufus prophesied this during his message; "Attitudes that attract the empowering grace of God - Part 4".

"Never conform to those who conive and contrive in cunning craftiness in counterfeit religious authority to produce the result to which their selfish agendas aspire, for this is a form of witchcraft that will confuse and tire my people with false fire and enslave them to the liar. But seek My face, position your hearts in humility and let my true nature of goodness, righteousness, purity, the integrity of my holiness and my perfect love capture your hearts. Let my motives motivate you, My desires desire you and show kindness to you, to heal you of all pain, to soothe away all rejection by My absolute acceptance.

Come surrender and yield all of yourself to me for you cannnot make your hearts pure and holy, but you can open your hearts and present your hearts to me, you can expose your hearts to the radiance of my glory, you can find in Me depths of pure kindness and you can position youself toward My Presence and I will make your hearts pure and holy. Do not take matters into your own hands, do not defend yourself or fight for your vindication. I am your council for defense. I am your perfect High Priest. I am your justifier and defender and no evil can successfully stand against you. Trust me, come further into My glory, further than you have ever been before, there are realms and realities of revelation that I am about to open to you and am opening to you. I have allowed you to come through the periphereal fence that the cherubims guarded and protected my people from going into the glory before their time, before they were ready through the New Covenant.

But in June 2007, I lifted that fence and My cherubims allowed you to come into that glory. You came in just but a few millimeters of a measure and now in this time since then I've allowed you to progress in the measure of a few feet or a few meters, but now suddenly I am advancing you in the measure of millimeters or feet but of miles and kilometers, a step at a time into My greater glory, into My presence. My Presence will be so strong that it will soften your hearts and take out of you all forms of doubt and bitterness. I will cause you to desire My way beyond human recognition and the praises of men. I am in these days giving My people such opportunity to have pure hearts and those who prioritize My manifest presence as precious beyond all else, I will drop down upon them mantles - I do not say mantle, but I say mantles, mantles of My glory - of My miraculous, of my enabling - for I can trust the stewardship of these unprecendented mantles of My glory only to those who are pure in heart, who are willing to suffer persecution without becoming bitter or cynical, because they find their safety and their hiding place and their protection and their identity in My manifest presence alone."

(Thanks to Lydia for this one! As she said so rightly; "I find it applicable to all who feel fed and cared for through Rob's preaching, and to those who may sense a connection to this amazing church").

"The Tabernacle of Worship" by Dr Ern Baxter

I don't want anyone to think that I have abandoned my love of Ern Baxter's ministry for Hong Kong! I discovered a series of teaching tapes that I had forgotten about while sorting through some stuff in my room and it looks to me like a perfect companion to the series that I transcribed some years ago called "The Priestly Clothing" which Mark kindly published for me for a while. In this series Ern goes through each of the objects in the Tabernacle and preaches on them. It's my intention to publish each transcript over this week.

Here is his introductory message. Oh for those interested in dates there is no actual date or clue on the tape. It sounds to me like Ern was preaching to a congregation he was pastoring rather than visiting which would suggest it was after he left Mobile, Alabama and went to Calvary Chapel in San Diego in the late 80's and early 90's.

"They continued in the apostles doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayer". This was the simple description of the life of the first church. And I think it is in the hearts of thousands of people this morning - according to a spate of books that have come out recently - that there is a great hunger across the world for a return to the simplicity of primitive Christianity. I think the closer we adapt our ways to the Word of God the more inclined we are to be obeying God in His desire. Paul says that one of the first things we should do when we come together, in fact he says "most important of all" - is that we should pray for all man everywhere, for rulers, and those in authority over us that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness.

"For God would have all men be saved". The salvation of all men is related to our community life in godliness. It is not by our preaching or by our tracts but what they see us doing.

So let's engage in prayer now shall we? Remembering of prime importance; "first of all". We don't pray for Grandma's rheumatism but first of all; "for all men everywhere". We can affect the course of nations this morning! By our praying;

"Father we come to You this morning in obedience to Your Word that it is a mark of the continuing church that they engage in prayer. And this morning our Father from the heart of this body goes out an intercessory cry to You for all men everywhere. For rulers and those in authority over us! We pray this morning Father for our own nation embroiled as it is in all the high powered tactics and hypocrisies of electioneering. Grant oh God that righteousness shall break in upon this scene. Because a nation that is not guided by righteousness is heading for hell. That's what Your Word says. We come to You this morning on behalf of many other nations - nations that are torn with famine and starvation. 2,000 a day dying in Somalia - little children Lord! My God be merciful! And arrest the bands of men who stand by cruelly to allow this to happen because of their own personal greed. We pray God for the turmoil in Yugoslavia, we pray for the reconstruction of the former Soviet Union states - we pray for South Africa and indeed all of Africa. We pray for Uganda this morning which is threatened by the end of this century to be wiped out with AIDS. We pray oh God for South America and for the great churches there and the great need there. We pray for South-East Asia Lord! For all men everywhere! Your world God! You so loved the world!

We pray for our own needs Father and the needs in this congregation. We pray Father for Your hand to be on each of us helping us to be in obedience to You to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We pray God for men and women here facing particular problems and challenges. Grace us oh God with insights as to how to deal with these things. We ask oh God this morning for the instruction of Your Word and that You would prepare our hearts as we come to You at the table. For You are our host and we are so pleased to be Your redeeemed guests this morning. Give us oh God new insights into Your purposes - we thank You for Your Presence this morning. For where two or three are gathered - there You are. We don't ask You to be present Lord - we believe You are present. Hallelujah!"

We pride ourselves on being free and we are not bound by liturgy. But it is an interesting thing that our freedom becomes a liturgy. And we start to do the same things over and over because that was right last time. I am going to talk to you about worship this morning and this maybe just the beginning of several. I am concerned about worship. I really am - I am deeply concerned. Worship is the totality of God's intention. The Father seeks worshippers who will worship in spirit and in truth and that is our major role. When we worship we don't worship according to a preset plan. We worship (and this may be shocking to you) according to the mood of the Holy Spirit! I have seen times of worship that were hilarious. People march, jump - it was the mind of the Spirit! And I have seen times when quietness came and that was not a liturgical quietness. The minister doesn't say "We are all going to have quietness now". The quietness that comes is as dictated by the Holy Spirit as the hilarity. And the first time I encountered it was when I was invited to an evangelical church and they said; "We would like you to come if you don't mention tongues". I said; "I won't mention tongues but I need to tell you something. If you get the shoe then the tongue comes with it". But I was true to my word and I didn't mention tongues. I spoke about the Holy Spirit and the mind of the Spirit and one night when I finished and I noticed a holy hush settled on the room.

So I gave the minister a nod that I was finished and here I was standing up here and he was sitting down there and I didn't know what to do. So I decided if I didn't know what to do then I wouldn't do anything. But I noticed the little children that had been agitated in the congregation and were squirming suddenly became silent. And a holy hush that you could almost hear - which is an oxymoron - went on for 10 - 15 - 30 minutes which was broken by a sob. That was as much emotion as I had seen since I had been there and then it spread across the audience followed by a move of the Spirit. And I realised that either God was in trouble or I was. Because it looked we were going to have the very thing that I promised not to talk about! However I didn't hold God to that promise. We had been proper. The ladies went in one prayer room and the men into another and I thought I would accomodate that. I said "There are obviously men and women here tonight that are feeling the Presence of God and you may want to press into God. Why don't we do what we do when we come? You ladies all go to your room and the men go to your room and wait on God?". And they did. And that meeting went on till four o clock in the morning. Many were filled with the Spirit and many spoke with tongues! So the next night one man got up and said; "I am sure glad for what happened last night - about three days ago God visited me in my bedroom and I started to do what they were doing and I didn't know what was wrong with me but last night I realised it was God!".

I merely say that to say that when we come together - don't look for what you think should happen when you think God is moving. Let's find out what God wants shall we? I want give you a teaching and I first want to read just a few Scriptures. I want to start with Exodus chapter 25:1-9;

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying; 'Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me. From every man who's heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. And this is the contribution which you are to raise from them. Gold, silver and bronze. Blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ram's skin dyed red, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate and let them construct a sanctuary for Me that I may dwell among you".

Nothing has changed! This here this morning is the Lord's sanctuary. Not the building, chairs, pulpit. You are a sanctuary. They built a material sanctuary back there but now God is building a sanctuary out of living stones and we are that sanctuary.

"According to all that I am going to show you as the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all it's furnitures just so shall you construct it".

How shall you construct it? Just so. Any deviation? Just so.

Now I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 9:9. I am not going to read extensively here. Talking about the Tabernacle; "It is a symbol of the present time". Or I like this translation; "The Tabernacle is a symbol for the time now present". Now everything I am going to talk about this morning and future Sundays - may seem to be Old Testament and out of date and not applicable, let me remind you that the inspired Word of God says it was a parable or a symbol. The New English Bible says; "All this is symbolic pointing to the present time". Hebrews is the book that informs us about the Old Testament services. Chapter 10:1; "For the law having a shadow of good things to come".

J B Phillips says; "The law possessed only a dim outline of the benefits Christ would bring and not a perfect representation of the reality".

"For those sacrifices which they offered year by year made nothing perfect or mature". The law was a shadow. It was a symbol. It was a parable. Let's turn to 1st Corinthians 10; "Moreover brethren I would not have you be ignorant how all our fathers were in the sea and in the cloud and were all baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and did eat of the same spiritual meat and did all drink of the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness". (v6); "Now these things were examples or shadows - warning us that we should not crave evil things as they also craved". Drop down to (v11); "Now all those things happened to them as examples". J B Phillips says; "These things that happened to our ancestors are illustrations in which the way God works". "In whose lives the climax of the ages has been reached".

One more. Romans 15:16. All I am trying to do in the reading this morning is to validate this one proposition. That what we are going to be talking about this morning has been divinely approved as a pattern as to how we are to behave. The difference between the Old Testament and the New was that the Old Testament was natural and physical and material and parabolic and symbolic of the New which is spiritual. There is a correspondance. Romans 15:4; "Written for our learning". 20th century version says this; "Was written for our instruction". "So that through patient endurance and the encouragement drawn from the Scriptures we might hold fast to our hope". The Old Testament is pertinent to the New because the Old is a shadow or a parable or a storybook. I remember when I started school and the first book we had was a brownie book and it had very simple intellectual information but it had an abundance of illustrations. Little hobgoblins and all in the margins and much of our initial teaching was visual and it was in terms of pictures. When we are training our children they think in picture form. They think in terms of pictures. They are excited about what they can see. "What's that?". Curiousity that is never fully satisfied!

A child is intrigued by things that they can see. It isn't until they get into the upper grades that they start to learn propositions and principles and axioms and start to exercise their intellect in making the pictures into the principles in which those pictures were designed to expound. The Old Testament is God's picture book especially the Pentateuch with the Tabernacle and the life of Israel is so outlined. The Tabernacle being a parable or a type or a shadow of all these things needs then to be studied by us that we might understand the propositions and the precepts and the concepts that the more mature New Testament represents.

Let me give you a simple principle of interpretation. The Old Testament never interprets the New but the New Testament always interprets the Old.

So where you find people who are taking their basic doctrinal positions from the Old Testament then you will find that many times they are harbouring views that are not mature because they have not gone onto the New Covenant interpretation of what the Old Testament teaches.

Many people want to stay in the Old Testament because it is an indication of the state of their maturity.

They still want to play around in the brownie books. The brownie books are important in the beginning but they are only types and shadows. I want to give you a context for the Tabernacle. I am going to put down three geographical locations here. 1. Egypt. 2. The wilderness. 3. Canaan. Egpyt is a type of the world. The wilderness is a type of processive maturity. This is where you get all your instruction. Canaan is a type of the world. But it is also a type of your mature witness. It seems rather strange that God brings His people out of Egypt which is a type of the world. These prepositions; "OUT". "THROUGH". You are not intended to stay in the wilderness. You go through it! "INTO". It looks to me to be a contradiction here! I come out of the world only to go back into it? That is right! What did Jesus say to His disciples? "As the Father has sent Me so send I you". Where? "Into the world". "Go ye into the world". You got out to be matured in divine ways so you may go back in and witness to Canaan the mature ways of God! You are taken out of the world to be prepared to go back into the world! What is the general Christian ideal? This is charismatic country - this is pentecost country. All the miracles happened in the wilderness. They got fresh manna every morning - from the angelic bake ovens. Every morning they went out and collected a miracle. Water out of the flinty rock. There was no natural flowing water in the desert! Water sprung out of the rock! Miracles and signs and wonders galore!

Everyone says "Oh we are very mature". No - charismatic country is the place where you are blessed by the Holy Spirit not only to experience gifts but to be matured through divine instruction as to how God wants you to live so that you may go into the world and be a mature witness to the world you came out of. Where did Israel get it's maturation? At Sinai. God at Sinai gave Israel an entire constitution. There is not an aspect of life that God didn't include in the Sinatic constitution. He covered everything! He covered jurisprudence, agriculture, education, health - everything is dealt with at the Sinatic constitution. Why? Just for the Israelites? No so that the Israelites were equipped with the Sinatic constitution and could come to Canaan and live it before these others and eventually take over Canaan. I don't know how much you want to read into that "take over" but God said when you come into Canaan I want you to put the Canaanite out. Let me digress here to register one of my pet peaves. We are told by certain religious types and I am so sick of reading it - that you and I as Christians are to be relevant to the world. Young theological students are being taught that they need to be relevant. That means we must accomodate the Church to the deteriorating views of a wanton society.

We must find a way to involve homosexuality in the Church even though God calls it an abomination. We must find a way to accomodate abortion on demand even though it is a form of murder according to the Word of God. We must find ways and means to accomodate utter social abberrations because we as a Church don't want to be behind the world! Balderdash! Undiluted drivel! This is not God's intention for us!

God's intention for us is that we shall be a colony of heaven to imitate to that wanton world how men and women are designed to live!

One of the great points that E Stanley Jones makes in his book on the Kingdom (and it is a marvellous point) - he said, "Man is constitutionally not structured for sin". You are not constitutionally structured to sin. When you and I sin it is a violation of our humanity! We are made for righteousness! We are made for God! We are in His image! When we violate that image we become a distortion!

So what are we looking at in the world but a distorted society? I am to be relevant to that??! Let me make one more point here as I commute from the chair to the board! Here in Egypt Israel was delivered by the Passover Lamb. I want to you to get this point and you must have this in your mind. The Passover Lamb is the conversional lamb - the One you believe in when you start out as a Christian. But when we get over here and the Tabernacle is built with all of it's offerings and it's lambs and bulls and goats and so on - this doesn't have to do with conversion, the sacrifices in the Tabernacle has to do with believers! You will see this in a minute as I give you some more visuals. When you and I got converted we were converted by the Passover Lamb. When we become Christians we found to our disappoinment that we weren't immediately perfected. We found a lingering in our tendancy to self-gratifying behaviour. The most disappointing thing in my life is that I have not become perfect. I mean that. When you become a Christian God puts something in you that makes you want to be something. And you don't make that something. And Paul helps us with that tension. He said, "As though we had already attained". He is talking about attaining normal constant maturation. He said "NOT that I have already ... but I press on towards the upward call in Christ".

There are three tenses to salvation. Paul says that the Cross is to us who are saved the power of God. Then writing to the Philippians he says; "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling". I thought you told me I was saved! He wrote to the Romans and he says; "Now is your salvation nearer than when you believed!". But didn't I get saved when I believed? Yes in one tense. You got saved from the guilt and the penalty of your sin. Now you are going to go on as you walk with God in the Spirit and the Word you will be saved from the power of sin. You and I are only being saved from the power of sin as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We don't understand those two words! Some of us give the impression that we don't fear or tremble at anything or anyone! But a godly Christian knows how serious this business is and works out his salvation with fear and trembling. He takes life seriously. He doesn't laugh his way through but understands he is being made mature in Christ. That is the second tense - "I am saved and I am being saved". But I am not saved yet! Now you must see that in the light of the whole - Paul says "Now our salvation is nearer than when we believed". There is one sense of our salvation that we cannot have prior to the general resurrection. I wish I could. I don't like getting old. There is nothing good about getting old. I don't know enough about death or heaven. Why do I have to die anyway?! That is the part of the curse that God has allowed to remain for both saved and unsaved and it is the last enemy to be destroyed and it won't be destroyed until the ressurection at which time you and I whether we are alive or not will take on our new bodies and we will be saved from the presence of sin.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin, we are being saved from the power of sin and we have yet to be saved from the presence of sin.

When we are talking about the Tabernacle I don't wish to be unkind here but I have heard preachers talk about the Tabernacle as if it were the Gospel for sinners. It is not the gospel for sinners because there is no place in the gospel for sinners! All those who have anything to do with the Tabernacle have come through the Passover Lamb in Egypt and came through the instruction of the wilderness and are now meeting in mature witness.

The Tabernacle was in a compound with a fence all around it. Here was a gate and out here was a brazen altar. Brazen - that is important. In here was a brazen (don't forget that) laver. Here is a doorway with a curtain and in here is another curtain. In here is the Ark of the Covenant and it has got the cherubim up here with their wings meeting in the middle and the lid of the ark is called the "Mercy Seat" - it is the lid of the Ark and it's very important. Underneath the lid was a Aaron's rod that budded and a pot of manna and the Law of Moses. When Christ died this curtain was rent from top to bottom. To show how stubborn the Jews were, the Rebecca sewing society sewed it up but God tore it down! So for you and me there is no curtain here but there was for Israel. Out here is the golden altar of incense. This is all brass outside and gold inside. Up here is the Table with the 12 loaves of shewbread and down here is the minora or the Golden Candlestick. The one thing that Israel retained after they were put out of Egypt was the candlestick. When the nation of Israel became a nation, Britain made a gift to them of a golden minora indicating that the British recognised that Israel was a people that related to the minora. It doesn't mean anything to them because they don't understand it's meaning and Paul says there is a veil over their eyes. All of their ancient things has no meaning to them as it should have.

How shall I go about this? Let me talk for a minute about the Levites. They were a tribe that God chose to represent the whole nation. The whole nation numbered probably about 3 million people and 3 million people couldn't come and worship here even though this is called the "Tent of the Congregation". The Tent of Meeting - this is where the entire nation met with it's God through the Levite priests. When an Israelite came to bring his offering, he could only come through this gate and he came here and brings his lamb and it is slain and he can't go any further. Now the priest has to represent him so he takes the offering and offers it on the brazen altar. Now this laver had a foot and this was the basin and he washed his hands and his feet and that is symbolic. When a priest was coming into the assembly - this is a type of what is here this morning. This is us! Before a priest (or you and me) could come into assembly he visited the brazen altar and the brazen laver. =

Brass is a type of judgement. Gold is a type of God!

I am going slowly because I am talking about something that is here in this room. I said this morning I am concerned about worship and I am concerned about our preparation for worship. How many of you dealt with your sins as a Christian and took the value of the Cross at the brazen altar to deliver you from the guilt of that sin and then how many of you went to the Word and Spirit of God to deliver you from the contamination of that sin? You are not even in church yet! It sometimes amazes me that God bothers to meet us at all. We have treated so cavalierly His Word and so imposed our own wishes on God's Word as to say; "I don't know what God said". A question was asked a man recently who took a drastic step back in his life and said; "What do you think God thinks about this?". His answer was a very frightening one; "I have no idea what God thinks". It concerns me deeply this morning what God thinks about me. He has got every reason to think pretty badly about me. But when I take the blood and His forgiveness and His mercy and the Word and He sees me in this Cross - that allays my fears for I am accepted in the beloved!

God doesn't see me in me - if I am up to date with Him. He sees me in Christ! Before you ever come through those doors you deal with those sins preferably outside even at home. We are priests with gifts. When it comes to our equality with God there is no High Priest - no other mediator but Christ. One mediator between God and man and that is Christ Jesus! There is no superior saints here this morning! And when we all function out of our gifts we have got a marvellous flowing body! I am convinced that we have suffered the ebb and flow of our worship flow in assembly through the years not in terms of who is leading worship or in terms of who is in the audience but in terms of what kind of preparation was made before we even came. I started this morning by saying; "This is not the PTA - this is a meeting of the church of God! The ecclesia of God where He sets the rules!". Can you imagine what would have happened to a priest if he had raced past the brazen altar and past the laver and blundered his way into the presence of God? I will tell you what would have happened to him! Fire would have come out before God and devoured him!

Oh - you say - that is too harsh. Well let me give you a real life situation. On the day the Tabernacle was dedicated, the ministry was given to Aaron and his four sons. Two of their sons for whatever reason imbibed too much liquour or wine and violated the command of God and went into the Presence of God in an imebriated state with fire that didn't come off the brazen altar - because the brazen altar was kindled with supernatural fire from heaven and that fire had to be perpetuated night and day fuel was put on to keep it going. Nadab and Abihu took strange, unauthorised fire and went into the golden altar to offer praise and fire came out from God and they were consumed! God got on the phone to Moses right away and said; "Moses I had to do this but tell your brother he is not to mourn and is to stand with Me in My judgement". The goodness and the severity of God. Can any of you think of a chorus about the severity of God? But that doesn't bless me! No it doesn't bless me in terms of your context of thinking. But you have the wrong context. Why did God tell Moses that Aaron was not to mourn over his two boys?

Can you imagine that old gentleman in all his regalia looking at the charred remains and a marvellous Scripture says that they were buried in their tunics. They were smitten with fire but somehow their white tunics were not marked. Isn't that a marvellous thing? When God judges you for sin, He won't burn your tunic but He will sure burn you. Can you imagine standing there and not showing emotion? The reason; "Mine anointing oil is upon him". Aaron is there as my High Priest and even though it is his two sons being judged, he must stand with Me in My judgement. We are talking principle here! I have seen more churches split and break up over human relational loyalty - so-called. Those kind of things don't count in assembly! You stand by the righteous judgements of God! What was the end point for the priest? The whole intention is that he gets to here - his last stop - to worship God. God lives in here. His localised home. He said to Aaron when you come to Me once a year I will speak to you from between the cherubim above, upon the Mercy Seat on the Ark. He locates Himself! The whole purpose in coming here is to deal with your sin first in terms of guilt. To cleanse yourself in terms of contamination and now you come in here to worship God. The only way you can worship God is to make this bee-line all the way through.

These articles are helpers once you get in. The candleabra is supernatural light. There were no windows in the Tabernacle. There was no natural light. It was all supernatural. A PHd won't do you any good. A seminary degree won't help you. Don't you believe in education? Yes. But it has got nothing to do with worship. Worship has to do with the preparation and attitude of the heart. It has to do with you being sure that your sins are confessed. "For if we confess our sins". He is talking to Christians here not sinners. "He is loving and lenient and He will forgive our sins because He is in a good mood". No? "Faithful and just!". Those are not emotional words but courtroom words. They are legal or forensic terms. "Just". There is no elasticity in justice. What does it mean? It means if I confess my sins to God He is faithful and just - He is divinely and infinately related to the work of Christ and has no alternative but to forgive my sins because I come through the blood of Jesus. God cannot ignore that blood! God the Father and Christ the Son have a covenant between them that if the Son died and shed His blood for us then the Father would accept that as our legal acceptance. When I confess my sins to the Father, then He is faithful and just to the Son because the Son's blood takes care of it!

It has nothing to do with being in a good mooid because God is always in an infinately correct mood. That kind of talk is humanist. When I confess my sins I depend on God the Father being true to God the Son to bear my sins in His body and shed His blood so that God will forgive me. For His sake! Not my sake! Ern Baxter only has entrance to God the Father through Jesus Christ and I always come in that Name. Ern Baxter's name doesn't move anything in heaven! No one is impressed with that name in heaven! But when you say "Jesus" the angels all stand to attention. Why? Because when we come in Jesus Name, we come in the only name that God the Father recognises. That's why Paul says "I am accepted in the beloved" because I am in Christ! God sees me in Christ! "Nearer I cannot be". But I am nobody. God knows you are nobody! That won't cut any ice with God! Of course we are nobody! We are a sinner, a rebel like anyone else! You and I are accepted in God because of Jesus Christ and Him only! If our heart isn't prepared to come to worship and we don't take the value of the Cross then we are not understanding what God wants from us for our maturation.

"For if we sin we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ the righteous". What does that mean? Well the word "Advocate" is the same word as in John 16 - paraklete. A legal representative. The minute I sin as a Christian, my advocate moves to the Father and says "Father our boy Ern Baxter has sinned down there and I am here to plead the value of My sacrifice on his behalf". The Father says "Son I recognise the value of Your sacrifice and I maintain My relationship with Ern Baxter". The old hymn said; "Forgive him oh forgive they cry, nor let that ransomed sinner die ... Father Abba Father cry". We say that is great! The minute we sin then Jesus goes to the Father and sorts it! That's great! You have two parakletes - Jesus in Heaven representing you to the Father and the Holy Spirit in you representing the Father to you. When you have sinned as a Christian you have a conscience and know how miserable it makes you. Let's talk about the reality of it. We have sinned and somehow we forget we have an advocate because we are miserable and ashamed and can't find the Holy Ghost anywhere. Don't want to talk to anyone.

The closest any Christian gets to hell is to have an unconfessed sin rambling around in your situation? Who's making you miserable? It's your enemy the Holy Spirit! Under certain circumstances He becomes an enemy! So when you and I engage in the flesh then the Holy Spirit is against us. So you go to bed but aspirins are good for headaches and not good for conviction. You are lying there unhappy and there comes a knock. "Who is it?". "It's the Holy Spirit". "What do you want?". "I want to talk to you". "I think you know". "Come back in the morning". "No I want to come now". "I don't want to talk about it". And you have to go through that whole renching experience where you say oh God I am so sorry. So if you are going to take some kind of carnal refuge in "if we sin we have an advocate" then you don't understand the totality of truth. We cannot continue in sin because we have an advocate inside that will not permit it.

The Presence of God and the gathering of God's people is the centre of our lives.

For us the veil has gone - Jesus took it away in His death. The Table is symbolic of the anointed Word. The candlestick is symbolic of the supernatural light in the assembly. I have seen situations where we have come so close to it where people are so instructed that when they come into assembly -we were in the midst of a visitation and the young people were so on fire for God that right after work they would get together and you could hear them coming up the road. It was like a murmer. They functioned that way. They would come breaking into the assembly place. They commandered the front seats and sometimes I would come and sit down there and never move. A beautiful order - everyone was prophesying according to their measure, no one was being frivolous. I know what can happen! You can't manufacture worship or reality. There is no natural light. The candelabra provides light. The place where we have to end up is here! Each of these deserves it's own treatment but we are talking about worship and how we come to God.

I want to talk for a minute about Dietrich Bonheffer - a young man in Germnay. He was a brilliant young Lutheran. And you wonder would have happened to him had he lived beyond his 39 brilliant years. He came to America and they vyed for him. Hitler was at work and Bonheffer felt he should go back and stand with his fellows Christians in Germany. On his way back to Germany he stopped in Switzerland at a Lutheran conference and his heart got heavy at the frivolity as to how they were treating things. He asked if he would be permitted to speak and here's what he said;

"Let me express to both groups the great concern which has been bearing down on me with growing heavinness throughout the whole conference. Has it not become terrifying clear again and again that we are no longer obedient to the Bible? We are more fond of our own thoughts than the thoughts of the Bible. We no longer read the Bible seriously! We no longer read it against ourselves but for ourselves! If the whole of our conference here is to have any great significance then it may be perhaps to show us that we must read the Bible in a quite different way until we find ourselves again!".

It was almost prophetic. Bonhoffer went back to Germany and joined the underground church. Eventually he was caught and was put into prisonand his letters from prison need to be read by everyone. The man never lost an ounce of confidence in God. Everyday he led the inmates in breaking of bread. And one day the police appeared and he knew what that meant and just hours before the Americans liberated that prison out of sheer venom they hung him by the neck. A man like that needs to be heard. He said; "We no longer read the Bible against ourselves but for ourselves". Every time I read the Bible it correct me".