Jul | 23 | The Best of Beers With Jesus The Thirst Quencher

Dream Word – ENCOURAGE

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. NKJV

Enjoying The Best of Beers with Jesus The Thirst Quencher!

Some people drink to drown their sorrows, to numb the pain and to forget. Some people drink for relational inclusion, for the smoothing of a social awkwardness and the facilitating of relational dexterity. Some people drink to bathe in the social sunlight of that short window of nimble numbness before drunkenness takes a hold. Some people drink because they are thirsty and sometimes, but not too often, some people drink to live, yes some people drink because they are happy, because they are celebrating! I tell you tonight, that there is no more refreshing a drink, than a drink which celebrates life and bathes your lips in laughter to so stretch out your smiling jaws in joy!

It was the ‘Bursting Forth’ - The Gihon spring, that fed the waters to the pool of Siloam, the pool of peace and quiet rest. It was from this same pool that on the eighth day, the day of Holy convocation, the day of the solemn assembly, yes, on that last great day of the Feast of  Tabernacles, that the priests in procession, accompanied by psalms of joy and sounding trumpets, would take a golden vial filled with water and mixed with wine, and pour it on the sacrifice of the alter. I wonder if it was here, at that high priestial pouring, that Jesus , the High Priest of Heaven, stood and cried out concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37b-39a NKJV)

In the Scriptures, wells, streams, fountains, rivers, springs, are all used as being emblematic of the abundant fullness and richness, of all the mercies which God has provided to the needs of the flock of His pasture. The idea in our text for tonight then, is that we should drink deeply of all the free mercies of salvation; of all the springing up, overflowing, refreshing waters of salvation, given to sojourning sons, pilgrimaging in a dry and thirsty land, even a parched land; and that we should drink of these with JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY!

I tell you tonight, that when God becomes the water source of our strength, of all our salvation and of all our songs of joy, then all our drinking shall be of the happy kind, bathing in His most bountiful of blessings, even in all the prosperity of the adopted son’s of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In your heart, at the centre of your being is a day beyond the day of rest, it is an eighth day fountain of living water, bubbling up within you and flowing out of you! If it’s not happening folks, then ask for the Holy Spirit. If You have Him, then make sure He has you. If He has You, and there is still no happy flow, then unblock your wells, that springs of living water may gusher up within you.

Listen: - From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it — the well the leaders sank, dug by the nation's nobles, by the lawgiver, with their staves." (Numbers 21:16-18 NKJV.)

Pray:- O LORD, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.'" Therefore with joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation and tonight we sing, “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted.” Amen! (taken from Isaiah 12:1-4)

                                                                                                              

Jul | 22 | The Lady in Red

Key Word:- CHANGE

Title:- The Lady in Red

Judges 4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.” And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.

Anna Sage, a Romanian born brothel keeper living in Chicago was actually wearing an orange dress to identify her leaving the ‘Biograph Theatre’. Under the cinemas entrance lights her dress appeared to be red. Sage’s beau for the evening was America’s then public enemy N01, the bank robber and murderer Mr. John Dillinger. Leniency in an upcoming deportation hearing and the prospect of cashing in on the $10,000 bounty, meant turning him in to the FBI a very attractive proposition. Dillinger however, refused to surrender and was gunned down by twenty waiting FBI agents. A multitude of murders, bank robbing and daring jailbreaks had finally come to an end. It was ‘The lady in red’ who had led this rascal to his execution.
I love the way the Scriptures present life in its beautiful but often times monstrous reality. For example, Rahab the harlot wisely betrayed her own city and country to find forgiveness and mercy and a place in the family tree of the Christ. Bathsheba the beautiful, would for centuries become almost unmentionable by the Scribes because of the betrayal of her husband, yet Solomon would emerge from her adulterous womb. Delilah would seduce Samson (and it didn’t take much friends!) and topple a powerful judge but blind leader. Even so, Samson would topple a kingdom in his blindness. I could go on but it might be good to get to my point. Am I saying “Men beware of women dressed in red?” You’re dead right I am! However that is not my main point. I truly believe that the message we need to embrace is this that God will get the bad guys in the end! He is a God of judgment, and all things are naked and lay bare before Him with who we have to do. GOD WILL GET THE BAD GUYS IN THE END.

Researchers claim that autopsy findings on the corpse dragged from outside the ‘Biograph Theatre’ contradict known medical records of Dillinger and the truth is, in another daring twist, Dillinger once again gave justice the slip. Even so, I tell you, whether the corpse was Dillinger’s or not, he did not escape justice. No one ever does.

God’s timing and purposes are inscrutable, yet it has to be acknowledged that there is a mountainous multitude of great injustices that go un-dealt with in this life. People think they can hide in a new name, a new country or with a new face and even behind the power and pride of self justification, or whatever convenient and clever fig leaf that comes to their hand. Though many are quiet and peaceful and seemingly smug and successful in so thoroughly hiding their sin, having so slippery side stepped what is most certainly their just rewards; I still I tell you, they are not successful at all. God will nail them in the end. For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:30-31. You might not like it but there it is. Our God is a God of pursuing vengeance.

Tell you what, you had better make sure all your fatal felonies and mocking misdemeanors are nailed to the cross of Calvary along with and in, His sacrificial Son. Because He’s coming and when He arrives, it’ll be no more ‘Mr Nice Guy’.

Listen:- And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear." And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket. Then he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' you shall say, 'No.'" Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man whom you seek." And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple. Judges 4:18-22 NKJV

Pray:- So Lord, help us to give You all our injustices. So Lord help us be mightily empowered to love our enemies knowing that You, The Great Judge will do right. For we know that those who do not find refuge under the nails of Jesus, will indeed be nailed by You………. in the end.

Jul | 22 | The Re-Naming Of The Shrew

Dream Word – DESTINY

Judges 6:12  And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!" NKJV

The Re-Naming of The Shrew

Whatever you think of Gideon, he was, upon the receipt of our text for tonight, both a hiding and a quivering before the rampant Midianite swarm. Never the less, it was to him that the angel of the Lord appeared with a description of Gideon’s character and action, that as far as we know, bore no resemblance whatsoever to either his past or present condition! Even so, he was, according to the angel, and therefore could be and would be, nothing less than A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR. How wonderful.

I love the way that God consistently calls into being those things which are not! Well, not YET anyway. Especially people. So 'Jacob the Twister' is called Israel, 'Prince with God', yet frankly, you don’t get a glimpse of this until many years later, even on his death bed when he is praying and prophesying over his sons. So with Saul. Saul the accessory to murder and I suppose the instigator of the murder of a multitude of others, Saul the Paul, though immediately commissioned as an apostle to the Gentiles, did not for many years fulfil that calling. Yet he was an apostle, even in the quiet and studious repentant years of preparation! God tells and God calls it and so it surely shall be.

So when God gives new names to projects and to peoples, to dreams and to visions, they most thoroughly encapsulate much, much more of what those things shall be, rather than what they at present are. Indeed, their future shall resemble little to their present, never mind their past. Yes, with both a new name and a Divine declaration, a hope and a future can be birthed by such prophetic proclamation. Yes, with a name and a declaration, God can change a shrew into a samurai and a mouse into a magnificent knight. Go ask Reepicheep!

Listen: - And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV.)

Pray:- Lord, call me forth, to a resurrected life and a designated destiny of a proclaimed path. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

                                                                                                         

Jul | 21 | Millions of Magoo's

Key Word:- CONSIDER

Title:- Millions of Magoo's

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish:

So she looks at me and says "I'm sorry the ticket is for a flight next week at this time, not today." Now this was the second time in two months this had happened to me. I booked over the internet, checked the documents thoroughly, only to find now that something vital to the journey was incorrect. THE DATE! I didn't trust the electronic booking system and these mistakes were becoming expensive. So, another $100 later I was found a seat on my flight and boarded the same, tired and grumpy.

My seat was 16A and as I approached it I could see it was occupied by some giant of a man. I sat in the vacant seat next to him leaned over and showed him my ticket. "I think you're in my seat." He looked at my ticket, and then looked at me with that "are you right in the head?" kind of look. I looked at my ticket 16A. Then looked up at his seat number. It read, 15A! Embarrassed, I apologised withdrew graciously and took my real and empty seat.

My flight back home gave me opportunity to reflect on what was happening in my life. Wrong flight bookings, wrong seat identification etc. Other incidents of reading words at a distance, only to find they read something completely different close up, indicated that I might have had some problems with my eyesight. A visit to the optician confirmed this and getting older, meant that I now had to wear my prescription glasses more often.

It took so long to identify the problem, because my brain took many of the blurred images and translated them for me as best as it could, as near as it could. In other words, I was not seeing what I thought I was seeing! I was just interpreting, and many times incorrectly, the blurred images I was now observing.

In our society, our eyesight is so far gone that we cannot but fail to misinterpret that which we see. Even as Christians we so often fail to clearly see what is going on. Friends, we need to put on the prescription glasses of God's Holy Word, and have our vision corrected by the Holy Spirit, for the older we get as Christians, the clearer we should really see. It would seem that this is not the case though and the failing eyesight in the natural, is all to often reflected in our increasing darkness in the spiritual. Surely this should not be the case friends should it? Of course not! However, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches have cast their pollinated darkness into the very depths of our vision and millions of Christian 'Magoo's' with big ‘bi-foculed’ eyes and outstretched arms, follow each other into one deep pit, one after another. So, let me ask you today dear friend, “What do you see? I mean, are you wearing your prescribed spectacles of the Word of God?”

Listen:- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. Revelation 3:17-18 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, open my ears and open my eyes, for I walk along the precipice of my life and am in need of the clearest of vision. Oh holy Spirit help me, in Jesus name, in that you make me a true seer, amen.

The Donkey Screamed
The Children Cried
The Women Wept &
The Blind Church Died
But No One Had The Brains
To Call Upon God

Jul | 21 | Of Borders, Boundaries & Particular Blessings

Dream Word – HOPE

Joshua 15:1 So this was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: NKJV

Of Borders, Boundaries & Particular Blessings

In the Bible, the possession of your “lot” in life is never expressed in terms of a pessimistic and determined, destined destruction, but rather is a precious picture, pregnant with peace, a peace which is full of desire and open to delightful development. In our text for tonight then, the word ‘Lot’ is used in a figurative sense regarding DESTINY, and it bears no negative connotation whatsoever! Yes this lot has boundaries, and yes this lot will be constantly infringed upon by our enemies, but it is a vast lot, a lot that is open for Divine development and more than that, it contains your inheritance and all the possibilities and variations thereof.

Now regarding the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:20 goes on to say that, ‘This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:’ and in so doing, begins to list the cities within their vast and delightful borders of destiny. The word ‘Iinheritance’ here focuses on both the present occupancy and the future gifting to descendents of the heirlooms if you will, all of which are contained within the vast borders of their delightful destiny, which is also always open to Divine development. For here lies a multitude of charming cities, all ready for present occupation, all ready to be passed on to their blood inheritors, the future blessed benefactors of all their present bounty. Do you see that?

I am taking our texts tonight, and I believe legitimately so, to be a metaphor for our own personal lot in life, our destiny if you will. For we are each an undiscovered country, that only if we would search, some gem would glint our eye, some seam of preciousness would marble the black, hard, rock within and correctly mined, could then be burnt to bring forth the warmth of other's hearts, even thine, and if fired, then fashioned, this treasure could deck the neck of kings! If cooked by the great chef, would grace our tables in the midst of our enemies and amongst them we could feast together! Oh taste and see, Oh search and see, that the Lord is Good!

So, within the delightful borders of our destiny, there are vast cities of inheritance. Gifting’s of every kind, great gardens, good roads, centres of development and areas of great industry. From these cities spring, horses and chariots; spring, warriors and artisans; spring, seeds and with the seeds, all manner of tasty delights. Yes, do you see your destiny tonight? Do you now possess your inheritance? Do you know how to?

The cherry on the top of this great ‘Knickerbocker Glory,’ is found in Joshua Chapter 15, where amidst the details of the overwhelming and delightful borders of destiny and the vast cities of personal and progentic inheritance, God has planted another blessing for us in terms of crystal waters, even rivers of it! These rivers run beneath the broad meadows and wait to spring up where we will. Yes, in the interjected and important, most marvellous story of Achsah, the little ankle bracelet of Caleb, we see here both our need and opportunity to receive the blessing and then ask for more! Achsah, (Joshua 16:16-19) in effect says to her father, “Since you have given me such a great destiny, give me also springs of water! Give me more!” She says, “According to my courage, mix my faith with your grace and give me also springs of water!” In response, the Scripture tells us that she received a double portion of both upper and lower springs. Imagine that!

So my friends tonight. It is time to begin to take a good look at your personal lot and see it as a delightful destiny. Reclaim the lost cities for they are your inheritance, and your inheritance to your blood offspring. Live in the cities of your destiny, prospering in them and from them. Then see what you still lack for present development and future prosperity and go to your Father and ask for it. Beneath your rich red earth, lay vast and flowing rivers of grace and provision. So, open your mouth wide and He shall fill it! Go on, once you’ve had a good gander at your lot, surveyed the ground, go gush to God for a more bountiful blessing saying, “Give me also, springs of water!”

Listen: - What do you wish?" She answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. (Joshua 15:18-19 NKJV)

Pray:- Holy Spirit, walk me through the land of my inheritance, show my cities and the possible lushness of Your Divine development, then my Father, in the name of Jesus, give me also springs of water, that I may overflow!

Jul | 20 | "This is the end. For me the beginning of life."

Key Word:-LOVE

Title:- "This is the end. For me the beginning of life."

John 15:12
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

The Allied breakout from the Normandy landings inspired an assassination attempt today in 1944 when Count Von Stauffenberg placed a briefcase with a bomb inside Hitler's command post for the Eastern Front in Rastenburg, otherwise known as his 'Wolf's Lair'. The bomb was one of many British bombs confiscated by German intelligence. Stauffenberg placed the primed bomb under the conference table and left.

After the explosion, both Stauffenberg and the other plotters believed Hitler was dead and so prepared to seize Berlin with ‘Home Army’ troops. Hitler however, though seriously injured, survived the bombing. Stauffenburg and thousands of others died in the purging that took place after this failed assassination.

Remarkably, this assassination attempt had been in the planning for more than 6 years and a German Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, had been involved in this plot from the beginning. Nazi officials would shortly discover the diary of another co-conspirator, Admiral Canaris. Hitler, in his rage, ordered the annihilation of the Admiral and his entire resistance group, which included Deitrich, who was already in prison for aiding the escape of Jews to Switzerland and keeping his underground Pastors out of the military.

There are three things of note here.

Firstly,  that it is difficult for people of peace time to understand the desperate necessities forced on others in times of war, especially then they are facing such overwhelming horror. Pastor Bonhoeffer's conscience was clearly rooted in his theology, which demanded he respond to such evil whatever the cost.

Secondly, Pastor Bonhoeffer knew and had bravely counted the cost to himself, his family (three other close family members were executed shortly after him) and to many other people. Not only would he have to take responsibility for his life before His Lord, but he would be accountable for the lives of many others before His Lord as well.

Thirdly, Pastor Bonhoeffer knew he was ultimately safe in the hands of Jesus and that death, though it may be very tortuous and very horrible, would never the less be the portal to his eternal home and eternal life. Never the less, this side of heaven, he was bound in his inmost being to fight evil. Be sure friends that this brave Pastor knew and lived out all three of my pitiful observations from a peacetime Pastor.

On April 9 1945, Bonhoeffer stripped naked before his gallows and faced the consequences of his love for Jesus and his fellow man. It is reported that before he walked out of Flossenburg Concentration Camp barracks for the last time, he had whispered to a fellow prisoner, “This is the end. For me, the beginning of life.”

Listen:- Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. John 15:13 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, You call us to a life of love and sacrifice for others. Give us courage here, and wisdom. Let us not be ardent for some desperate glory, but no matter what the cost to us, let us be faithful and true to our deep love for You, amen.

Jul | 20 | Playing Cards With Dr. Vomit

Dream Word – POWER

Acts 19:11-15 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" NKJV

Playing Cards with Dr. Vomit

I used to work in the downtown heat of north Miami, in the city of Hollywood to be precise. So anyway, when I used to drive down past our church, I always took a good look underneath the covered entrance way situated at the front to the building, for this shaded area always seemed to attract a very weird variety of wildlife from the local area and many times from far, far beyond. Sometimes they would be people from Boston, taking a picnic from the heat, having just been robbed at the local greyhound bus station, (interestingly, everyone with a tale to tell me, had just been robbed at the local greyhound bus station! They’ve closed it down now), a family changing their car radiator with a distraught Romanian gypsy in tow and in desperate need of prayer, someone just out of prison, or someone else maybe carrying a sick child, needing money, or... well you get the picture. The covered entrance way of that downtown church….my goodness!

One particular day though I bumped into Dr. Vomit. She was a middle aged woman calling ‘Bill and Hughie," on the hot sidewalk, leaving splashes of speckled coloured sputum on all the cars driving by. So, I swung round and called to her, “Hey can I help you ma'am? Can I call 911?" She looks up, sweaty ,with sick dribbling down the side of her mouth and says, "No thanks I'll be just fine." I don't believe her so I get out of the car and walk up to her.
"Really my dear what’s wrong and how can I help?"No honest I'm fine, I'm a doctor" and with that she wretches more black sputum into the road.
"What's happened?" says I.

"El Presidente! Happened!" (Now, El Presidente was the awful and smelly, South American supermarket on the corner....) “ Yeah, El Presidente and their #$#@@ rice and black beans! That and those *%6#$%’s in that family that I put away! They’re messing up all the people around here again with all that tarot card crap and screwing their minds up!”

She shook a dirty finger at me with a piece of vomit sitting precariously on her well chewed nail. “Yeah, they live just round the corner there, the whole bad family; watch out now! They'll mess you up as well, they’re bad." So, by now I'm a bit confused, but knowing the nature of the multi-cultural community round here I say "What, do you think they’ve put a curse on you?""No! I'm Doctor Willow, I'm a doctor, they can’t put a curse on me. They just can’t!" By now she'd started puking again, quite nonchalantly into the side of the road. "No you can't help me, I’ll be OK, but watch out for them, they'll put Buddhism on yer!" And with a wave of her hand and a final puke she turns and staggers off into the distance. The passers-by are treading carefully, but apart from that, no one is really phased by what they have both seen and heard. It was Miami and it was hot. It was most abnormally normal.

Dr Willow? Ah yes, I think I remember that she came by our church stall at the local city open-air expo and gave me one of her business cards. ‘Dr Willow’ it read, ‘Reiki Healer.’ Now, I have dealt with the plush and proper forms of Reiki healing before, but with poor old Dr Willow all jacked up on fear, mutual cursing, black beans and bad rice, well, the flow of universal energy wasn’t doing her much good right then I can tell you!

It was evident that this particular lady was very ill indeed. No intellectual presentation of the gospel of choice would not even begin to get her attention. For her and the family she had previously ‘put away,’ now roaming around with a pack of tarot cards and big bag full of lies, yes it was obvious that only a direct encounter with the living and powerful, resurrected Lord Jesus would be able to begin to rescue and redeem this particularly pitiful and puking practitioner and all her sworn enemies.

The enemy today no longer keeps his cards close to his chest. Right now, in this post-modern post Christian and increasingly Pagan age, they are on the table face up for all the world to see. For Christians of course, even for two thousand years, God’s cards have been on the table and all bear this title,. ‘The Gospel- The Power of God to Salvation!’ So let’s play! We’ll beat him hands down. We always have. We always will.

Listen: - Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. (Acts 19:16-20 NKJV.)

Pray:-Lord, the devil is making a power play today for the souls of lost men and women, and is seemingly winning. His bondage is now both open and blatant. We ask You our Jesus, that Your church will make use of the power You have so readily granted us. So come Lord, follow the preaching of Your word in all mighty signs and wonders, amen!

                                                                                                         

Jul | 19 | Communication & Coffee Shops

Key Word:- OBEY


Title:- Communication & Coffee Shops

Matthew 9:37,38 “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”

Pain makes me withdraw. Pain makes me isolate myself, protect myself, hide myself, hate myself. This is the unnatural state of all of us. You know? Hiding from God amongst the large leaved palms, behind the Wall Street journal sucking on an ice-cold latte. Such hurt and hiding people need pursuing! When we find them, on our lips must be an invitation into a washing, a healing and a hoping. Whatever the tune, we need to sing to them our new song and though what I say next may sound a little ‘wet’ maybe, let me tell you that you can be sure that on that carrier wave of the story of your journey and of your so great a Saviour, there shall dance yet another sound, a hidden and an imploring message, bursting full of invitation; “I went down in the river to pray studying about that good old way and who shall wear the starry crown, O lord show me the way. O brother lets go down, come on down lets go down, O brother lets go down, down in the river to pray.”

Starry Starbucks and every other coffee shops with a community, are a good place to look for people who might at some time in the future wear a real starry crown.

In one of these coffee shops, over her Cappuccino, she was loving on life. Her new baby was just a couple of months old. It was cosseted on her lap and upon her loved one, she now rained down colossal kisses, which seemed to squash the newborn’s face even more into the picture of a sleepy and gum-less old lady. The mother laid back her child and cradled her in the crook of her elbow. From her bag, she removed the bottle of milk and pressed it into awaiting and hungry lips and passing people, lining up for their early morning brew, stared and smiled at new life. It is always the same, for new birth is beautiful and a new child is always envied by the old. After all, there before them lies an innocence and cleanness that they, in their scarred and scared latter years, now truly dream and long for. It’s the same stuff they have lost along life’s dirty old highway that is now gurlging there before them, fully present and giggling in an 8lb bundle of neediness. A baby, full of new life and new possibilities. How wonderful! What we all wouldn’t give for clean hands, clean hearts and new possibilities eh? What we wouldn’t give.

Our society is full of ‘coffee shops.’ Places, if you will, where people gather for fun and fellowship. Fellowship is an old-fashioned word I know but friends, that is what it is. “Sir, would you mind taking our picture?” Three smiling and chattering women interrupted my writing. “Sure what’s the occasion?” I asked. “Oh nothing, we just want to remember our good time together.” I told you! Fellowship. Do you see that? Fellowship. Just ‘good times together.’ This threesome, this gaggle of big women, had for the last hour, laughed over old stories and old boyfriends and tall tales of the night. But it was fellowship never the less, happening right there in this coffee shop, happening everyday and all around us.

Now friends imagine in the multitudes of these many and varied collections of community, one person coming to Christ and being born again. Imagine the envious and intriguing looks of those longing for love, for forgiveness, for clean hands and for clean hearts, staring into a new baby Christian’s eyes and watching them suckle on the new milk from the Father’s hands. What invitations into happiness and into new possibilities such new birth could bring into aching communities. What starry crowns might be at last laid on redeemed and happy heads.

May I suggest we find as many ‘coffee shop’ communities as we can and go and make babies!

Listen:- Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! John 4:35-36

Pray:- Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief. Let me see You working and where You are working my Lord, there shall I be also. Amen Lord and by the way, mine’s a Frappuccino! _
 




___________________



"Down To The River To Pray"

As I went down to the river to pray
Studyin about that good ol' way and who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way!

O sisters let's go down
Lets go down, Come on down
O sisters lets go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studyin about that good ol way
And who shall wear the robe & crown
Good Lord show me the way

O brothers lets go down
Let's go down, Come on down
O brothers lets go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studyin about that good ol way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good lord show me the way

O fathers lets go down
Let's go down, Come on down
O fathers lets go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray studying about that good ol way
And who shall wear th robe and crown
Good Lord show me the way

O mothers lets go down
Come on down, don't you wanna go down?
O Mothers lets go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studin about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way

O sinners lets go down
Lets go down, come on down
O sinners lets go down
Down in the river to pray




As I went down in the river to pray
Studyin about that good ol way
And who shall wear the Robe and crown?
Good Lord show me the way

Jul | 19 | Owned and Loved By The Lord of The Sword

Dream Word – HOPE

Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. NKJV

Owned and Loved By The Lord of The Sword

Donning his priestly robes, the swordsmith, after days of prayer and fasting approaches the finishing of his task. The fire is hot, the hammer and anvil are ready, together with the primeval elements of metal, wood, water, earth and air. His task is to complete before him what he considers to be a spiritual entity; a multi-heated, many- folded, million-layered, highly and uniquely individual, flexible, functional, sharp and sure, weapon of war. For sure, every civilization has seen the making of swords as a spiritual act, producing an end product of both a common and yet highly unique character.

King Jesus, walking among the lamp stands holding in His hand the seven stars, has coming out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This is the sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God. Certainly at the very least, the sword is an emblem of spiritual power, prowess and character. Christ the Master Swordsmith, the Lord of the Sword, is specialized, unrelenting, fine and focused when producing a sword of character. Yes, God is at work in us 'blades', producing common and yet uniquely individual characteristics, the cascading colours of which, will be unashamedly borne by us for all to see throughout eternity.

The source of those fine and distinguishing, individualistic markings of Christian character, is in fact ‘working tribulation.’ 'Working', in the sense of it being a repetitious, purposeful, applied heat and beating pressure. All martial arts have the ‘Kata’ of training: you know, that repetitious exercise of position, movement and application; and in the same way, ‘trials and tribulation’ are worked into the life of the Christian by the Master Swordsmith. It would appear that the Lord of the Sword, is producing weapons of war, through his own very own ‘Kata of Working Trubulation’

Yes indeed, the Lord of the Sword IS at work in your life through trials and tribulations, for in the same way a fine sword is hammered and beaten, made hot and cold, folded and broken, pressed into purposeful multi-layers of strength, absorption, flexibility and sharpness, we too, through trials and tribulations of various kinds, experience this same kind of enfolding and applied, persistent spiritual pressing. The pressure of pain, the pressure of need, of lack, of fear, though all are common to man, in the Kata, that is the ‘Kata workings’ of God the Holy Spirit, they are enfolded into our life in the hot fires of crucified and crucibled afflictions. When this happens, the 'Kata workings' of God, produce an increasing tempered endurance; that is, a constancy of obedient direction, despite the difficulties of applied trials which may be set before us. In each fold of the metalled sword, in each beat of the hammer, in each dimming of the light to examine the colour of temperature and the settled state of worked in character, yes, in each swing of the weapon and test of its balance , the Master Sword Maker is looking for perfection! If more of the character of the piece needs to be worked in, or drawn out to produce the assured, tried and trusted, purchased, pressed and proven character that is required by Him, then be assured, that the Lord of the Sword will take it back to the heating and back to the quenching, the beating and the folding. In all the precise practice of perfectly placed, persistent pressure, The Lord of the Sword, will not let up, until the individual completeness of His desiring is seen to form both in and on the blade.

Christian character then, this side of heaven at least, is not to be seen as a settled state, but rather, that which bubbles up in the revelation of all our crucibles of experience in both trial and in testing. Christian character then is a work in progress, for it is the tried and tested, pure ore of continuous development. Note as well, that in all pressing and preparation, the sinful scum, resulting from affliction rising to the surface in our lives, all needs continually scraping away! It would appear that this is a process which every Christian blade will go through to be made fit for the Master’s use. Yes, the crucible will be continually reheated, and the blade have continuous pressure applied, so as to eventually produce a pure and the shining sword. I am both daunted and encouraged by this process and find it helpful in two major ways:

Firstly, that we don’t become discouraged by seeing people pass through various trials and then failing! Providing their journey continues, the crucible will be re-heated and that scum will eventually be scraped away. The Lord of the Sword is unrelenting in this and he shall do His work both thoroughly and well.

Secondly, that the continuance of trials in a person’s life, is in fact a sure sign that God intends to produce pureness of character. Problems then, are a sign of God’s continued sanctification process.

May I finally say tonight, that if there have been no pressings problems in your life as a Christian, no pressures and no beatings, then maybe you should ask yourself if you are in fact owned and loved by the Lord of the Sword?

Listen: -

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him:
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out--
God knows what He's about.

(Author Unknown)

Pray:- O Great God, grant me mercy in Your great and purifying fire. Amen

                                                                                                           

Jul | 18 | Sip, Savour, & Do The Happy Dance

Key Word:- OBEY

Title:- Sip, Savour, & Do The Happy Dance

Romans 10:14,15 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

I don’t think it’s going to change. People will always try and form some kind of community and of course, community is where real communication happens.

As I look up from my writing, I find I am indeed sat right in the center of a thriving local community, even a community within a community; my local Starbucks coffee house. It's a lifestyle emporium really. People all lining up for their coffee, all shapes, sizes and colours; an armed policewoman, a builder, a company CEO, a young woman, her clothes or rather her substantial lack of them, indicating either her job or her intentions! Young people, old people and an old Seminole Indian sat in the corner. All these folks give their full attention to the Spanish servers linking all the orders together in some strange angelic tongue, “Frappuccino Cappuccino Mocha Latte Grande. Frappuccino Cappuccino Mocha Latte Grande!” I nearly stood up and asked for silence while we sought an interpretation before we continued with the floor show, but people knew, they understood and bleary eyed, all thankfully strumbled forward to collect their desire of the day.

The CEO came and sat by me, dark sunglasses square jaw, unshaven and hip, admiring my 17 inch laptop screen, “Man this place is more crazy than California!” He’d just moved to Florida with his four children and was concerned about the open immorality. He wasn’t a Christian, but he was concerned. Interesting eh? I asked him “Is there a need for more churches in this city do you think.” He smiled with a ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ kind of smile. “Man there’s a need! Have you been round here at night time?” It was day and I looked around at the other open laptops, hunched shoulders and staring eyes, all indicating wider connections and monetary transactions, data streaming and idle dreaming, all surfing the wireless highway, all searching and yearning over their morning coffee for something more, all living in the night and some even now, right now, longing for the dawn. Yes indeed, there was a need for another church.There always is.

Wherever we are there is such a dire need for Jesus and with such need there is such opportunity! The Coffee shop CD player pumped out the music, I think it was Ray Charles: “Amen Amen, you gotta lay it down and let it shine to show your love”. The large coloured sales sign in front of me, gave me and gives us all, an invitation into joy and worship, into work and service,. “Hey” says the Lord, “Look at all this harvest! Now get to work! Yeah, Sip, Savour and Do The Happy Dance!”

Listen:- And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34 KJV

Pray:- In this desert place where we live O Lord, the day is far spent and we hear Your command, “Give them something to eat.” Turn our little into much then and help us to make them sit down on the green grass and feed on You. Let us give them the water of life that we may all sip, savour and do the happy dance, all together in Your eternal kingdom. So make us powerful missionaries to every community we encounter, wherever that may be. Amen!

 

Jul | 18 | Fighting For Life

Dream Word – BE

Psalm 10:14 to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. ESV

Fighting For Life!

The telephone rings and the father begins the awkward conversation with his son. Apparently, the girl is pregnant and not a believer in God. However, she has chosen life, she has chosen to keep the baby and she won’t even be tested for Downs Syndrome; indeed, no offer or hint of a quick end to this very personal problem is even contemplated. The father is angry, disappointed ,but never the less, impressed and thankful for the fact that life has been chosen and chosen in the face of great difficulty, for the new family has no roof, no job and no prospects in the new city they have moved to. Life with all its difficulties has been chosen. Now what?

They are together. At least for today, who knows what the future will hold. Will the pressures of want, push them even closer or drive them further apart? Thinking about the question, the father believes he already knows the answer, for joy and want are only good neighbours in the movies; real life is not soft and cuddly, it is like a meat cleaver to any relationship that is birthed on the financial chopping block; it is sharp and dreadfully divisive. Surely they know this? Yet despite all its inherent difficulties, life has still been chosen. Now what?

The thought crosses the father's mind as to how much easier it would have been to get an abortion. A simple procedure, some repentance at a later date maybe, you know, when they’ve got on their feet a bit, maybe got a job, a place to live, a steady income, spent some time getting to know one another. The father is feeling guilty that such a thought should ever cross his mind, but his heart and wallet are already hurting. However, despite the pain, life has been chosen with all its difficulties, with all its baggage, with all its financial burdens, all its late nights, all its cumbersome meetings with angry future ‘in-laws;’ yes life, with all its ducking and all its diving, all its mess and bloody surviving. Life has been chosen. Good grief! Now What?

Common and confusing, culturally mixed messages don’t make choosing life easy. Society at large is living in the land of contradiction, spending millions each year on heart transplants and launching helicopters and lifeboats to rescue rich blondes and their prancing poodles who having spilled their “champers” on shiny new decks, have slipped off tall yachts around the Isle of Wight on Cowes week! Whilst at the same time, to save a few bob and a few bucks, we are pulling the plug on those wrinklies of the bed-wetting variety, that have become an ever growing burden and rancid smell on the rest of polite and hard-working society; and to mix it up just a little more, if a sad man, a bad man, a mad man, attacks a pregnant mother and the child in her womb is lost, then that same mug is in prison for manslaughter; whilst, if the mother should decide, with sterile suction and long sharp knitting needles to terminate and poke out the life of her own son or daughter in the warm, but now salt ridden waters of her womb, she shall be cosseted and caressed for doing “the wise and selfless thing!” Even the doctor who slips the head out of the sad vagina before scissor slicing the back of the babies neck with surgical shears, and in the so doing, is paid for severing the spine of the future before a cry is heard, well even that doctor is honoured and thanked. It's alright, we’ve renamed the child as ‘Feoutus, Embryo, Not yet human, Garbage, Scientific material, Saviour Sibling.’ Yes, call it anythng, but call is anything but a baby.

Society is sick and this devilish disinformation is meant to confuse the possessors of life to grotesquely, for personal comfort, societies ease and prudent and practical cost cutting, give up the same, you know, babies, children, life and future, give them up without a fight! It is a miracle then, when amidst all this confusion, amidst the lies and disarray, people still choose life! Hip hip hip HOOORAY!!!

Pastors must rejoice at such choices and one day at a time, must journey such life into He who is the light of life, the only God eternal, our Lord and lovely Saviour, Jesus the Christ. More than ever the charge of the shepherd is to grow up and engender a loving and living community of the saints that can righteously and graciously walk in truth and love, humility and mercy before the unwashed and the seemingly unashamed. God help the church and the society who are the subject of the cries and complaints of those unmarried mothers who have chosen life, and of their subsequent and fatherless little offspring, who have asked for help with life and got no help at all! For I tell you the truth, God will take up their case of life, even if we refuse to. In all practicality, the Church of God must now fight for life!

Listen: - “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless”.. Exodus 22:22-24 ESV

Pray:- Lord, teach us how to stand with those who choose life. In Jesus name we ask it, amen.

                                                                                                         

Jul | 17 | Jesus

Key Word:- LOVE

Title:- Jesus

1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

While the answer to cynicism stood in front of him, Pilate still spat the back of the hand slap question into the face of Jesus in his statement question of, “What is truth?” In hungry hope and pleading desperateness, another important question has also been asked by men and women throughout the ages, not in cynicism this time, but in mostly desperation! Here it is, “What is love?” The answer to both questions of “What is truth and What is love?” still stands before us all today.

In our text for today, John the young ‘Son of Thunder’ later known as the aged ‘Apostle of love’, gives us the answer. Do you want to see love, hold it touch it taste it gaze on it and examine it? “Well,” he says, “In this is love! LOOK! JESUS!”

So Friends longing to be loved, come lean on Jesus; fall on Jesus; collapse and crash on Him. Run to Jesus; dance to Jesus, walk to Jesus; skip to Jesus; limp to Jesus; crawl to Jesus; just get there if you can. Fly to Jesus; flee to Jesus let Him your refuge be; look to Jesus; see Him there, come gaze with wonder on the tree. Shout to Jesus ; cry to Jesus; speak to Jesus; whisper in your Lover's ear. Sob on Jesus; sleep on Jesus, be still, becalm your fears. Cast all your cares on Jesus, loose the chains, unload, unlock be free! Look to Jesus, stare on Him, come gaze with wonder on the tree.

In this, in this indeed, is pictured love; in nail pierced flesh and sinew stretched open arms, in ripped and open side, in blood and thorns, in blood and thorns the Prince of Life, He died. To those that did not ask, to those who did not care, He gave Himself, He gave Himself, He gave Himself to suffer there. So, shout to Jesus, cry to Jesus, speak to Jesus, whisper in your lovers ear. Sob on Jesus, sleep on Jesus. Be still, becalm your fears. Cast all your cares on Jesus, loose the chains, unload, unlock be free; Look to Jesus, stare on Him, come gaze with wonder on the tree.

What is truth? What is Love? Jesus.

Listen:- “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22

Pray:- Lord, as I look upon your sacrifice that satisfied all the righteous demands of Your holy law against me and vented the justified anger of You against me, dearest Jesus so extend to me Your look of love and save me. Let it be so, in your great name I ask it, amen!

Jul | 17 | The Three Considerations of Bogart and Bacall

Dream Word – BECOME

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. KJV

The Three Considerations of Bogart and Bacall

In 2004, aged 95, just four weeks before his death, Alistair Cooke, after 58 years of writing ‘Letter from America,’ the longest running talk radio show ever, put the finishing touches to letter number 2,869 whilst he lay dying of bone cancer, propped up on pillows in the same New York apartment he had lived in for 50 years.

Cooke, in his final letter, makes reference to the 'Lewinskian fall President', Bill Clinton, remarking that, “In all the 12-year concern about Saddam's intentions this fear never failed to haunt the White House - the fear of an overnight Saddam attack and either the outbreak of a whole Middle Eastern war or the death of the state of Israel. President Clinton fretted over this problem as much as anyone and had plans to go into Iraq to enact, on his own if must be, "serious consequences", when Miss Lewinsky became a figure of fate, as significant as Napoleon's mistress, Madame Waleska. By the time Clinton was ready to mobilise an American or allied force he didn't possess the moral authority to invade Long Island.”

Regarding the whole and necessary issue of ‘Moral Authority,’ I came across this definition on the internet, here it is: “Moral authority is having the personal credibility with your target group that makes your words persuasive to them. Moral authority is achieved when your target group perceives that you have these two qualities: integrity and compassion.” I like that. You see, the real magnificence of a mighty "moral majority" does not bear the marks of a pompous religious pressure group, but rather it bears the marks of Christ! The marks of the great Shepherd of the sheep. The bloodied brow, the slapped face of the rejected words of truth. The broken and pierced hands and feet. All these scars have been received by the disciples of Christ, chiefly, by being true to the Master and His message. In all these trials, these damaged disciples have been found to be constant in care and the very embodiment of kindness in terms of expressed compassion towards the folks they are leading. Yes, integrity and compassion, those two things my friends, is where the power of any “moral majority” is going to come from.

Yes, a leader must possess a Moral Majority. He must exude an impartiality in terms of fairness in love, provision of goods, protection of lambs and practicality in leading and yes, these must be exhibited towards all those folks he is leading. Such worked out, worked at integrity and compassion will provide leaders with the necessary credibility to set both the pace and the direction of change. For such a broad ranging fairness will be indicative of compassion, and such plodding persistence in the same unalterable direction, despite persecution and suffering, will be indicative of a true integrity. I tell you, if you can make the steep ascent to the mountain top of the Moral Majority, then the earth will be yours and everything in it.

Alistair Cook had many friends, two of which were Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Whilst on a train journey, it was Alistair who burst into their carriage asking the question “Was it Christ who said, ‘Be Ye Perfect?’” For a brilliant and an educated man, the son of a Methodist Minister, Cooke should have known the answer to that question. I suspect he did and that is was a relevant question for the contemplation and consideration of both Bogart and Bacall .

Like many of you leaders tonight, you too know the answer to that question, but for whatever reason have failed to climb the steep ascent of the mountain of the Moral Majority. Unless you ascend that mountain you cannot lead your people into the promised land. Yes, if that plane of impartial compassion and persistent integrity leaves the ground and you're not on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life. Never Bogart impartiality, compassion or integrity. Oh, and if you have arrived at the top of the mountain, don’t Lewinsky your valuable prize.

Listen: - Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. Psalms 25:20-21 NKJV

Pray:- Lord, deliver me from self-righteousness and blind religious pomposity, but oh my God, lead me up the rough ridges of consistent integrity and the steep cliffs of impartial compassion, that I might ascend the mountain of the moral majority, yes, that I might lead your people well, in Jesus name I ask it, amen.

                                                                                                         

Jul | 16 | Seek Out The ‘Smithies’

Key Word:- FIGHT

Title:- Seek Out The ‘Smithies’

1 Samuel 13:19-22 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” ………………. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

To finish off this wee trilogy on warfare, let me point out a great plan of the enemy. He wants to remove the weapons from our hands, so we can neither attack nor defend ourselves and the best way to do this is to remove the blacksmiths from the land.

A minister of the most high, a Pastor, is in fact a vital member in the support and supply corps of the Lords army. It is part of the Pastor’s job not just to fight and defend the flock of God, but to so supply them with sharp double-edged swords, so that it’s not only two people who enter the battle sufficiently armed and prepared, but the whole band, the whole local nation as it were. “Everyman armed with a sharp two-edged sword.” Now there’s an interesting church motto I have yet to see in any Pastor's study!

Our enemy has done a thorough job in eliminating blacksmiths from the land. When did you last think of your Pastor as someone you can go to to learn how to fight, or as an armourer ‘par excellence’ that will give you the most effective and appropriate weapons to fight with, or to have what you’ve already got sharpened, re-forged, re- tempered, made stronger still? Too many pastors are adept at the art of political manoeuvring, social studies, demographic science, tea drinking, nice talking, wet fish handshaking, deacon dodging and trustee training, than they are at labouring over hot coals and producing weapons of warfare, weapons of both defence and destruction for their local battalion. Many a Pastors’ persistent motto has been “Be Nice. Smile. Offendeth Not. Covereth thine own back!” God help us today, for the blacksmiths are gone from the land.

To those who are sick of losing, I counsel you to seek a man who has a furnace and is known for having the wind of the Holy Spirit pass over his coals to make them white hot. Seek out a pastor whose house is filled with the sound of a rushing mighty wind, the clash of arms and the felt heat of forged steel. Seek out a true spiritual blacksmith then, whose hallway is full of harness and halter, breastplates and helmets, not of old ladies coats, nice curtains and pink, puffy pelmets. Seek out some real men then, men that are Hot with God! Seek out the Smithies.

Listen:- “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; Isaiah 54:16

Pray:- Lord, take me to the blacksmiths and equip me for the war. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Jul | 16 | The Clarity & Change of The Ramrod of Correction

Dream Word – BECOME

Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV

The Clarity & Change of The Ramrod of Correction

Last night, I made reference to Winston’s Churchill’s ‘Finest Hour' speech and I shall refer to it again tonight. For within that most magnificent of speeches, lies another admonition of vital importance for the remnant of local churches and mission organisations of the present day.

In his speech, Churchill, whilst touching on an explanation as to why only three British Divisions were left to stand with the then fallen French Army, says at last, “I am not reciting these facts for the purpose of recrimination. That I judge to be utterly futile and even harmful. We cannot afford it. I recite them in order to explain why it was we did not have, as we could have had, between twelve and fourteen British divisions fighting in the line in this great battle instead of only three. Now I put all this aside. I put it on the shelf, from which the historians, when they have time, will select their documents to tell their stories. We have to think of the future and not of the past. This also applies in a small way to our own affairs at home. There are many who would hold an inquest in the House of Commons on the conduct of the Governments--and of Parliaments, for they are in it, too--during the years which led up to this catastrophe. They seek to indict those who were responsible for the guidance of our affairs. This also would be a foolish and pernicious process. There are too many in it. Let each man search his conscience and search his speeches. I frequently search mine. Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”

Did you hear Whinni’s final remark? “Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” I am becoming increasingly convinced that as we are now many hours after midnight, Winni’s final comment in that particular section of his ‘Finest Hour’ speech spawns three important points towards personal, local church and ‘church national’ revival.

Firstly then, we need to truly see the dire situation which we are in. There is a strange blindness in the church at large today, caused I think by the closing lids in a demonic sleepiness. It’s so bad, that if we ever do get fully on our knees, it’s still only a heavenly cattle rod placed up our stuck up rear end which will finally lift our heads and electrify and brighten our eyes! We need this to fully take in our most dreadful and urgent of positions. Those of you who dare, must pray for the urgent ramming of this rod of sparking illumination, so that we might finally give some standing and shouting, butt-clutching attention, to the plans and present conquests and victories of the enemy. We need to get off our backs, crawl on to our knees and finally leap to our ‘star jumping’ feet. Only a cattle rod up the rear end will do this. Yes, it’s time to stop laughing and start weeping and we can only do that if we get off our backs and up onto our feet.

Secondly, we must be presented personally, locally and nationally, with strategies for victory. These will be COMMANDING strategies, these will be DIFFERENT, DARING AND FAITH-FILLED strategies, SACRIFICIAL strategies, ALL NEW and ALL FRESH! They need to be, for there is one thing which we can be absolutely confident about and that is, that everything we have tried thus far has failed abysmally. THE NEW MUST COME.


Thirdly, in terms of failed strategies, pitiful power bases, bickering, bitchiness and blandness, we must personally, locally and nationally, THOROUGHLY let go of all these past hindrances, for I tell you, if we continue to clutch ANYTHING associated with past failures, we shall foster continual arguments between the present and the past and we shall never lay hold of our future. NEVER!

Make no mistake about it, the final arrival of Clarity and Command, if they are acknowledged , accepted and apprehended, will bring with them such a profound and shaking change to all of our structures, directions, patterns, partnerships, resource allocations, systems, styles, plans and personnel, that they will shake us to our core! However, the truth is, they bring with them tonight, probably the only chance of the recovery of any possibility of victory.

Finally, may I say that if the letting go of the past and laying hold of the future fails, if upon waking we do indeed find ourselves to be on the wrong side of the red line of destiny, then at least we can go down fighting. Yes, at least we can go out with a sword-wielding shout, instead of an abattoir’s whimper. Even so tonight, “Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”

Listen: - Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Philippians 3:15-16 NKJV

Pray:- Lord bring that very particular rod of correction tonight and ram it where the sun doesn’t shine! Wake us up O Lord and in the waking send us leaders, send us movers and send us shakers, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

                                                                                                             

Jul | 15 | Faith in The Forger

Key Word:- FIGHT

Title:- Faith in The Forger

Joshua 7:1-5 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Mere bravado and self confidence does not constitute pre-battle intimidation. If you have not trained, if you do not know your enemy, if you have not walked wisely and obediently in your preparation, such ignorant bravado is but mere stupidity.

David, the ruddy young man, was no doubt fearful in approaching Goliath of Gath. Yet his heart was in the trim because his method and weapons were tried and tested, “Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” (1 Samuel 17:34-36).
 David was ready! You see, the intimidation and mocking of our enemies before the battle, the shaping and shattering of hearts before a stone is thrown or a sword is swung is not mere bravado. It must come from the fact that we have already thoroughly tried, trained and tested what we are about to use. We know the strength and value in what God has given us to fight with.

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, BUT MIGHTY! Do you know that? Have you felt the shuddering impact of a weapon of God used by you against His enemy? More than this though friends, our confidence must be in more than the weapon and the known wielding. Our faith must be in the Forger of such weapons. “Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:37
Now many of you, not only do not have a clue about what I am speaking of, but may also find my use of fighting words deeply troubling and against what you believe to be the mind of Christ? May I encourage you to examine the Scriptures and find the Christ of the Scriptures. He is the Commander of God the Father’s magnificent Hosts of angel armies. He is the ultimate warrior and He’s engaged in a tremendous conflict with the great enemy. He was dead, but now is alive and He’s coming soon to bring a sword of flaming judgment to the earth!

Intimidate, mock and make the enemy shake, make the darkness tremble friends, don’t just sing about it but DO IT! However, do make sure that such talk and dancing is not mere bravado rooted in a big mouth and a bombastic untried head and heart! Let thorough preparation, knowledge of self and intimacy with the Almighty God, clothe your words with steely strength, both today, and in all the days to come.

Listen:- Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16 )

Pray:- Lord, help me to live in the reality of who You are. Teach me how to kick some enemy ass, in Your great name I pray. Amen.