ASKING AND ACTING IN JESUS' NAME

Dearest family,

Personally, I was really blessed by the praise, the prayer and the preaching on Sunday. Preaching you ask? But you were preaching and that sounds weird! Frankly, if the person delivering the message is not blessed and stirred and challenged by the Word they are bringing, they should probably not be speaking it. The “how’s” of our delivery and presentation are always open to improvement but the “what” of our communication, the truth of the Word that is brought, should indeed bless the speaker as well as the hearer. So yes, I was really blessed by the considerations of “the name of Jesus.”

What I decided to do was ride on the tails of Monique’s excellent message last Sunday, when she drew your attention to the unmissable emphasis in the text of Acts on “the name of Jesus.” So crucial is it to grasp this that I thought I’d use the shorter time I had to further reinforce what Monique was rightly focusing on. Remember, that in those early chapters of Acts with such emphasis on “the name of Jesus”, the apostles and converts were not yet known as Christians. That identification came a bit later: they were “called Christians first at Antioch” (11:26). From the beginning of the church they were primarily described and defined by their association and identification with the name of Jesus. Everything they did and said, invoked and evoked Jesus. They were called “those who call on this name” (9:21) and “those who bear my name” (15:17). It is interesting to note that in the book of Revelation, describing a church under pressure and persecution, the church in our present world in fact, the description of the spiritual faithful is “those who are true to my name.” There is therefore a particular appropriateness in the reward for such: the Lord says He will “write on them my new name.”

The apostles only had one explanation for everything that was happening: “It is by the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:10).

• You could only be saved by calling on the name (2:21) and there was no other name by which anyone could be saved (4:17). 

• They preached that you could only repent and get baptized in the name of Jesus (2:38).

• They understood that forgiveness could only be received through His name (10:43). 

• The bottom line was that the gospel was described as “the good news of the name of Jesus Christ” (8:16).  They healed in the name of Jesus (3:6; 4:10). 

• Faith was only understood as being in the name of Jesus (3:10). 

• Their teaching was in the name of Jesus (5:40) and they only ever “spoke in the name” (9:28)

• Many of the disciples in Jerusalem did not believe that Saul had become a disciple and feared mischief, that he was possibly a plant. However, it was the testimony of Barnabas that Saul now preached “fearlessly in the name of Jesus” (9:27) that clinched the evidence for his conversion. 

• The explanation for discipleship, for surrender and sacrifice was for the name of Jesus (15:26)

• They ministered deliverance in the name of Jesus (19:5) 

• They described the evidence of the presence of God as the name of Jesus being held in “high honor” (19:17). Response to the name was the indication of a reviving move of the Holy Spirit. Not surprisingly, they understood that the prime work of the enemy and his demonic cohorts and human associates was “to oppose the name” (26:9) This is how we are first introduced to Saul as the leader of the persecution against the church. He is described as one who persecuted “all who call on your name” (9:15) But in the very next verse it is prophesied that as Paul he is going to “suffer for my name”. So it is no surprise to later hear Paul in 21:13 say that he was “ready…to die…for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

• But another thing they did was to pray in that name. When they specifically asked God to do things (like signs and wonders) it was understood that not only was their asking in the name of Jesus, but everything requested would be only be given “through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (4:30).

Was this some new revelation post-Pentecost? No. How did the first volume of Luke’s historic record conclude? “He told them, ‘This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.” What Jesus said post-resurrection was concordant with all that he shared pre-cross in the Last Supper discourse, where no less than six times he describes that their intimate communication with the Father, that their experience of Jesus’ abiding and continuing presence, will be “in my name.” (Jn. 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23, 24, 26). Throughout the gospel record we read of the miracles in the name (Mk.9:39). Jesus said of his disciples’ future ministry, “In my name they will drive out demons” (Mk. 16:17) It was Jesus who made the connection between our acting and asking and His name. He spoke of the cup of water given in His name (Mk. 9:41); of welcoming someone in His name (Mt. 18:5) It is the equivalent of Him doing it personally Himself. When we gather in His name to ask (Mt. 18:20) He said “there I am.” He foretold that the persecution his disciples would face would be “all on account of my name.” He said, “They will treat you this way because of my name.”

His name is the equivalent of His presence. When we act or ask in His name it is as if we are in His presence and asking and acting in His place. To ask or act in His name is essentially to be in union with Him, to be one with Him, to be so identified with Him, and He with us, that we share the same name. This is why the phrase “in me” is so repeated alongside “in the name.” His name becomes our name for the purposes of accessing and approaching the Father, for asking and acting. His ID is ours and it is not identity fraud. We cannot do anything in our own name. It is His name that has grounds for appeal and for making claims upon the Father. We have no claims on God. We have done nothing that makes Him obliged to us, that makes Him our debtor. God does not owe us anything and thus He is not beholden to us. We cannot argue our merits. We can only ask and act in the name of Jesus if we know that we have absolutely no claims on God, no rights. The right that we are given, that we are graced with, is the right to ask and act in Jesus’ name when we have no right to ask in our own.

When we do so, it is on the grounds of Jesus’ claims on the Father. We do not have the ground to stand on, but He does. Centuries before, Daniel foresaw this when he said that the people did not present their asking to God “on the ground of our righteousness but on the ground of your great mercy.” (Dan. 9:18) The risen Christ can claim His redemption rights. He has His claim on us as His inheritance, promised to Him through His obedience unto death even the death of the cross. He has a claim on that which He has fully purchased. He can claim the right of access to the Father. He can claim on the basis of His relationship with the Father. He can claim upon the will of the Father because He only ever does what Father wills.

When we ask and act in the name of the one who has the claims on the one being asked, when I ask in the name of Jesus of the Father and act in His name, when I am allowed as it were to sign my asking with His signature, and act on His approval, then I am heard and responded to. Jesus gives us the right and the authority to use His name to access the resources of the Father and make our claim, as if He was the one doing the claiming. This is why we can ask and act boldly. It’s all in the name.

In His name,

Stuart

A RIGHTEOUS USE OF THE TONGUE

Dearest family,

I was hoping on Sunday that the opening of my message would have you thinking in a way that you would be surprised at the connection I would then make with the final gift of the Holy Spirit that I had not been able to comment upon in my last (second of two) message ‘Towards a Theology of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” You may well have thought that my message was going to be about the righteous use of the tongue, and may have been wondering what that had to do with a series on Acts of the Apostles. As I hope I made clear, there is no more wonderful a righteous use of the tongue than the gift of tongues.

How’s your tongue? Ever give you problems? Like what kind? Bitten your tongue recently, or put your foot in your mouth? Wished you could have taken something back? Spoken out of turn? Bad-mouthed? Run your mouth off? Spoken through a hole in your head? Amazing the number of phrases and idioms that describe what comes out of our mouths. Have you ever done a Bible study on the tongue? Here are just some of the kinds of tongues that scripture identifies: viper’s tongue (Job 20:6); flattering tongue (Ps. 5:9); proud tongue (Ps. 12:3); lying tongue (Ps. 109:2); deceitful tongue (Ps. 120:2); false tongue (Ps. 120:3); forward tongue (Pvb. 10:31); naughty tongue (Pvb. 17:4); perverse tongue (Pvb. 17:20); backbiting tongue (Pvb. 25:23). Here are specific uses of the tongue that are condemned: gossiping, tale-bearing, false witnessing, whispering, slandering, falsely accusing, vain talking, defaming, tattling, lying, deceiving, backbiting, raging. And in the NT, the book of James is a veritable concentrate of bad news: a little member, boasts great things, is a fire, a world of iniquity, defiles whole body, sets course of nature afire, untameable, unruly evil, full of poison, blessing and cursing, capable of bitter strife. There are plenty of examples of unrighteous communication in Acts including lying, complaining, raging, threatening, bearing false witness, being abusive. (I mentioned on Sunday that on no less than 4 occasions, the root of unrighteous use of the tongue was named as ‘jealousy.’)

Can we take anymore? Given how unholy this member is, would we not want some good news about it? The tongues of fire at the day of Pentecost was an image of cleansing. It was about holiness. And that holiness was mirrored vocally in the gift of tongues. How incredible that God gives us a gift that has a pure and holy expression for our private praise and prayer, and intimate communication with the Lord. Doesn’t that make the gift very desirable, and very necessary? There are at least four different descriptions: new tongues (Mk. 16:17); other tongues (Acts 2:4); divers tongues (1 Cor. 12:10); unknown tongues (1 Cor. 14:2) Common to all is the power given by the Holy Spirit to speak a language that expresses the inexpressible, that can dialogue meaningfully with God beyond the limits of intelligible thought and language. A public tongue must be interpreted and it is most likely that whoever speaks in an unknown tongue in such a way will most likely interpret because scripture says that they should pray that they can and will do. (14:13) That has been the normal experience here in COSC. Note that it says “different kinds of tongues” so although they are not gibberish but languages, they may be extinct ones, unused dialects now, or the tongues of angels (13:1) not just men. But the assumption is that they will not be intelligible to either speaker or hearer. (However, there are occasions when this gift has been used by God to speak directly in the language of someone being addressed, as on the day of Pentecost.) Speaking in tongues is predominantly then a private gift, that edifies the speaker. So it is a crucial and non-negotiable means for building up your own spiritual life, your own spirit. Paul says that when we speak in tongues we speak “to God” so it is a gift for deepening relationship, for intimacy and for freeing intimate expression. Never forget that at the end of the day, this gift was authenticated by Jesus himself, the One who had said to “wait for the gift.” (Acts 1:4)

If Paul was in church, he would not say anything different to what he said back then: that he would that we all speak in tongues. (1 Cor. 14:5) Don’t go too quickly as a way of escape or avoidance to “Do all speak in tongues?” (1 Cor. 12:30) Paul also urges us to “eagerly desire” the gifts of God. If tongues is so important for intimacy, why on earth wouldn’t we desire this gift for the deepening of our communication with Father, particularly in our praise and our prayer.

As well as the matter of tongues and edification, I suggested another important point seldom mentioned: that there was an inviolable relationship between tongues and racial reconciliation, and that when we exegete what kind of “sign” this gift is, we have to conclude from the text that it signed the fulfillment of Jesus’ commission of the disciples to bear the gospel to the nations, beginning with their immediate world of all the nations that bordered the Mediterranean including Africans, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, Asians, present-day Europeans. Representatives of these nations said they heard “the wonders of God in our own tongues” (Acts 2:5-12). Tongues was a sign that not only witnessed to God’s redeeming work for all nations, but was itself the means of communication of that witness to the gospel.

In all three incidents in Acts when tongues are imparted (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6) it is in a multi-racial context, one of cultural and national diversity. So what am I saying that tongues is a sign for? God is no respecter of nationality. There is no divine toleration for racial superiority and ensuing racism. Prejudice was the barrier to the Gentiles getting the gospel from the Jews. If there were any doubts, Acts 10 settles the matter. It took the vision of the sheet with unclean animals, to break the bondage in Peter and prepare him to go to Cornelius’ house. The sheer supernaturalism of this chapter, both through divine vision and voice to Peter, and angelic visitation to Cornelius, tells us that God is concerned that nobody misses the point, and that He will spare nothing in order for this truth to be relayed and received. What was the conclusion to be drawn from the manifestation of tongues to the Gentiles? The text tells us: “God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation” (10:34) To think or live differently is not just to be ungodly, but to oppose God’s love and His will and purposes. Of course the prejudiced Jews were surprised and can hardly disguise their rooted superior patronizing attitudes of heart: “even on the Gentiles’! From now on in Acts, the address of the gospel is consistently to “men of Israel and you Gentiles” (13:16); “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks” (20:21) If you take racial reconciliation seriously, you will take speaking in tongues seriously, as this gift will be a constant reminder as you employ it in your daily life, that your racial identity is a gift of God but insufficient for your redeemed identity in Christ, and the fact that you need to speak another language to enhance your intimacy with God, will remind you that God is the God of all tribes and nations. Everyone committed to God’s reconciling purposes when it comes to race, needs to receive the gift of tongues as the sign of those purposes. Does that give you yet another timely and relevant reason to desire this gift?

Pastorally yours,

Stuart

BLESSING THE FATHER'S HEART

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(ESV)

Matthew 5:8-20

TOWARDS A THEOLOGY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS (2)

Brothers and Sisters,

Stuart continued to explore a basic theology of the spiritual gifts this week, after speaking previously about how to approach this study in the first place. Last week he exhorted that we cannot begin with giftedness, we must begin with the Godhead! “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). It starts with God’s presence - “manifestations of the Spirit”. Requires the participation of all members – “to each one is given”. And results in the church’s profit - “for the common good.” You cannot privatize the gifts of the Spirit, but must move in desire and maturity for the sake of the body, or at the expense of His very gracious influence in our lives.

This past Sunday he focused our study on the gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1st Corinthians 12, all of which are extensively demonstrated in the book of Acts. There are three things Jesus taught in the upper room - the work of the Holy Spirit, the call to ask, and the world. Jesus said extensively that we would need the work of the Holy Spirit to do the works of Jesus, so it should come as no surprise that this would happen to two really obvious ways: character and charismata. The charismata gifts are expressed as tools to help us to know (wisdom, knowledge, discernment), to do (faith, healings, miracles) and to say (prophecy, tongues, interpretation).

GIFTS OF KNOWLEDGE: Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment
Get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7). The tongue of the wise uses knowledge aright (15:2). Knowledge is the communication of “what” providing the truth. Wisdom is the application of the “what” and shows how to guide one to that truth. Paul is not setting up a hierarchy of gifts in his communication, but often begins his epistles with the difference between the world’s wisdom and God’s (1 Cor. 2:1, 2 Cor. 1:12, Ep. 1:18, Phil. 1:9). Thus it shouldn’t come as a shock that this is where he begins in the list of manifestation gifts. The gifts function as a team, constantly overlapping and enhancing one another towards a common result, revealing Jesus (Col. 1:1-12, 2:2-3). It is impossible for a mature manifestation of the gifts to only draw attention to the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is a self-effacing member of the Trinity, always pointing to Jesus, and Jesus always draws us to the Father. Wisdom and knowledge not only reveal Jesus, but the evoke godly character (fruit of the Spirit) in the believer. Paul starts with these gifts as Corinth was steeped in sensationalism, thus beginning with wisdom and knowledge keeps the emphasis on Christ, Christ-like character, and content. Content which is meant to bear the truth of God into peoples’ lives for their good. These two gifts are also functionally important when it comes to the public communication life of the church and are especially needed for peaching and teaching.

Word of Wisdom
This is not about natural gifting - not persuasive words of human wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4). A word of wisdom comes as a specific revelation of God’s nature that enables us to think in a specific moment about specific situation, rightly. It is often immediate, brings illumination to whoever receives it, and bears an answer to a specific question or asking. Like all gifts it is grounded in God’s word and therefore His will. It is about intimacy with Jesus, loving and listening to His voice. It will never contradict scripture. Therefore, desperately needed in preaching and teaching. In all our lives we require this word of wisdom in our communication with others, with believers or as a witness to others. The Lord will write the script for you as you are speaking to aid in revealing Jesus! This is Jesus promise; the Holy Spirit will teach you at the time the words you need to say (Luke 12:12).

Word of Knowledge
Clearly, this often overlaps and connects with the word of wisdom. Words of knowledge are not an ability to convey information, telepathy, or mind reading - all of which scripture forbids. These always bring the fruits of fear, dependency, and control. Rather it is a very specific, penetrating word of Godly knowing. People who bear that word do not become gurus, but point to Jesus. Typically, the word comes with regards to things that are hidden, and brought to the light. Jesus often operates in the word of knowledge, for example the conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4:17), or Zacchaeus (Luke 19). In all cases, this gift is always meant to draw people deeper into God’s purposes for their lives. The gift does not humiliate or belittle, though it might be uncomfortable. It is a wonderful extension of God’s grace to somebody! Often times this gift comes as a rebuke that brings loving correction, but it can equally come as a blessing.

Discernment of Spirits
This gift is desperately needed as there is an unholy trinity at work around us: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Each of which needs to be discerned. The early church was plagued with this distraction at every point, and greatly needed the discernment of spirits. This gift works for our protection, purity, and to promote what is good. Discernment doesn’t solve the problems, but it exposes them for all the other ministrations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is clearly a spiritual perception of what is functioning and working behind what is being observed in external appearance. There are three designations of spirits in scripture: human spirits (emotions, etc.), demonic spirit (Matthew 9:27), and divine (presence the Lord and His angels). These spirits are always around us, thus discernment is non-negotiable for the work of discipleship, and defiance against the curse of the enemy in our lives.

GIFTS OF ACTION: Healings, Miracles, & Faith
Healings and miracles are both noted in the plural, as no two healings or miracles are alike, each is uniquely tailored for the person and situation. This wets our expectation of the variation of ways the Lord can manifest for each individual person. Furthermore, in this culture there is a ripe work of counterfeit healings and health methods which can invite the demonic into the life of the believer. We must be careful to examine our participation in practices, such as yoga, which may evoke and invite a healer other than Jesus. All healings are miracles, but not all miracles are healing (such as calming of the waves). It is about what God trying to say through the miracle, pointing to the love and care of God!

There will be a continued message to examine the gift of faith and the gifts of speech (prophecy, tongues, and interpretation) in coming weeks. Many thanks to all of you for the generosity of your giving to the youth mission trip to Benin on Sunday. God truly provided in abundance. We raised over $5000 (wow!) through the offering, auction, and BBQ – all of which will go directly to the ministry and people in Benin. Our deepest appreciation for your support!

May we all grow in our expectation of God’s presence in our lives, through the Holy Spirit, revealing Jesus to the world around us!

Pursuing Him,

Monique (on behalf of Stuart)

TOWARDS A THEOLOGY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS (1)

Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday Stuart laid a basic framework for how to approach a theology of the Spiritual Gifts. We all seemed well versed in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful, gentleness, and self-control, but much less able to identify the nine manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yet as we read the book of Acts we cannot get away from the words of wisdom (6:10 – 7:53), knowledge (5:3), prophecy (11 & 21), healings (3:8, 9: 17-19), miracles (9:40), faith (27:13-38) discernment of spirits (16:16-18), tongues and interpretation of tongues (2 & 10) which are prevalent and pervasive in the early life of the church. Understanding how these gifts might manifest in our own church life today does require a common foundation for us all to stand upon.

Here is a summary of the overview Stuart presented:

PRE-EXISTENT EXPERIENCES AND ATTITUDES
We come to the gifts of the spirit with our own pre-existing spiritual, denominational and theological experiences. For some this will be about a recovery of past negative experience, and for others it will be a discovery of non-existent experiences. Our pre-existent attitudes can deny, discredit, distort, depreciate, distance, divorce, and despise that the gifts are part of our inheritance as a result of the finished work of Jesus Christ for the service of the Body.

TWO DANGERS, WARNINGS & ENEMIES
Not all manifestations of the spirit are equal, and can be fleshly and immaturely expressed. We must not uncritically accept everything we witness. We are also in danger of an unspiritual response to the giver, the Holy Spirit, and an irreverence for His Personhood. Our responses to the manifestations of the spirit, are responses to a Person, and they are taken personally! Scripture warns us about two things with regards to the Person of the Holy Spirit, not to grieve or quench Him. We grieve the Holy Spirit by failing to recognize His Person, purpose, presence, purity, promptings and provision. While quenching Him is about our control, culture, compromise, fear and failure to test the spirits. Scripture tells us how to discern, so we do not want the fleshly to put us off to the truth of the spiritual. Lastly, in Corinthians Paul sets up two enemies of the spiritual gifts which are ignorance and arrogance (4 & 5).

FOUR PRINICIPLES
First, the Spirit’s sovereignty is related to our surrender. There is always this lovely relationship between the sovereignty of the Spirit who initiates and our freedom to receive, but it requires our willing surrender to cooperate. The gifts and move of the Spirit are not void of personal, beautiful nuances of God expressed through this one and that one in our midst! It is not a colorless, tasteless domination. Second, the spirit can manifest any gift, through anyone, at any time as He wills. Where the power of God has worked in your own life there is the potential to operate in strength, with the gift of faith, for that work in somebody else’s life. Nothing God does for us is just unto us, but it meant to be multiplied through us. The gifts are a corporate issue! Third, Paul lays a pastoral foundation about diversity and unity. God works equally and consistently through all regardless of difference and with equality! The last principle, refers to taking care and taking risks. We safeguard against the false and fleshly manifestations by testing if it is Christ-centered (Lordship), scripture-based, and full of godly character. But within those safe boundary lines we must be bold to pursue, grow, and mature in the expressions of the Spirit, as Paul exhorts us.

CONTROL
This is not a matter of an individual being forced to do something, but a matter of oversite. The gifts and manifestations are directed by the Spirit, controlled by the character of Jesus, constrained by His love, and contained within scripture. The issue of control does not mean there is no enthusiasm, joy or affection, but it is regulated by the fruit of self-control.

CREED
It is about creed not confusion! In 1 Corinthians 12:3-8, Paul lays a Trinitarian theological foundation. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” It is the reverse order than we typically expect (Father, Son, and Spirit), but Paul is modeling a vital process wherein the Spirit submits to the Son, and the Son exalts the Father. The understanding of the unity we experience as the gifts are manifest, is the unity of the Trinity, and requires our submission to the Godhead. The point is we do not begin with giftedness, we begin with the Godhead!

THREE PURPOSES
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). First, it reveals God’s presence, which is what is meant by “manifestations.” Second, it requires all members’ participation – “to each one is given”. What gifts are you praying for to be expressed in you and others? Third, the purpose is to result in the church’s profit - “for the common good.” You cannot privatize the gifts of the Spirit.

NEW TESTAMENT GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
Just for our understanding and reference there are three categories of gifts mentioned in scripture, motivation gifts (Romans 12:3-9), ministry gifts (Ephesians 4:11-12), and manifestation gifts (1 Cor. 12). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not toys to be played with or extras that are not really needed. Nor are they trinkets, jewelry, to adorn us to make us look good. We must see the gifts of the spirit as functional, brilliant tools in the tool bag for doing the work of Jesus. If you are walking in and witnessing to the life of Christ it is nearly impossible not to move in the gifts of the Spirit.

THREE RESPONSES
So what do we do? Stir up the gifts that are in you (2 Tim. 1:6) . Do not neglect the gift that is in you (1 Tim. 4:14). Covet earnestly the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:31)! At the end of the day it is all about His presence and His desire to be with us.

We cannot understand the gifts as simply an individual matter! The gifts of the Spirit do not have a full meaning unless they operate through and to the Body of Christ. In fact, the lack of ministration of the gifts does impact the cohesiveness and unity of the body. We must move in desire and maturity for the sake of the body, or at the expense of His very gracious influence in our lives. Christ Our Shepherd believes the gifts are normative and they are necessary, so how are we asking and seeking for this move of the Presence of the Lord in our church life?

Pursuing Him,

Monique (on behalf of Stuart)

“HONDA: THE APOSTLES’ CAR OF CHOICE.”

WHAT DID HE SAY?

Dear family,

For those in attendance, thank you for your attention on Sunday to my message on the hearing/listening relationship between the Gospels and Acts and specifically between what is said and what happens in the story of the early church. Many of you were away on Sunday so I hope you get to download it and hear it / listen to it! Within the first five seconds of your exposure to the biblical text of Genesis 1, you have encountered three related things:

• God spoke: “God said…”

• There was a hearing of His voice: “and there was…”

• The Spirit effected obedience: “the Spirit of God was hovering…”

In a word, the history of man’s sin is a resistance of this creational reality, and thus life becomes uncreated and falls apart, when the Spirit’s hovering and our hearing get disconnected. The history of man’s sin is a story about bad hearing. We have only been reading the Bible a few short minutes when we encounter man’s first hearing responses: wrongly (to the serpent) with the result that sin enters the world) and wrongly again to the voice of God with the result that they “heard…and they hid.” (Gen. 3:8) The history of spiritual hearing continues right up to Revelation 22:17, the last words of the Spirit and the Bride in scripture: “Let him who hears say, Come!” From beginning to end, the Bible gives reason after reason for why we either do not listen or why we cannot hear: pride, untruth, self-satisfaction, rebellion, disobedience, idolatry, unbelief, cynicism, shame, unconfessed and unrepented sin, unteachableness, distraction, loving the sound of our own voice more than His, unbelief, willfulness, stubbornness, offence and on and on.

I probably referenced over a hundred scriptures about good and bad hearing, that illustrated the relationship between listening and obeying, between what we hear and what we do, between the recovery of spiritual hearing and revival and restoration. What we need to note is that hearing rightly is the key: to knowing rightly and to doing rightly. This was the also the key post-Pentecost.

As in the Gospels, the health of hearing in the Acts of the Apostles determined everything. Acts 2:14, 22 Fellow Jews…listen carefully to what I say…men of Israel, listen to this…” The proclamation of the gospel opens with the commanding call to “LISTEN!”, a harking back to the Shema in order to get them hearkening forwards to the new covenant. The new age is launched with a Holy Spirit inspired ‘Shema Yisrael’ – this is the continuity of fulfillment of the redemptive plan of God. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one God…Hear O Israel, let all Israel be assured of this: God (that’s the God of the Shema) has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36) Like post-Sinai Israel, the post-Pentecost church was founded on a call to listen.

When Peter’s opening word is “Listen!” that is addressed as much to us the readers as to his live audience. In his second sermon, Peter’s emphasis is unchanged as he quotes Moses to his Jewish audience: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from His people.” (3:22) When Stephen preaches and says “listen to me!” (7:2); when Paul preaches and says “listen to me” (13:16) our own minds and spirits are addressed and our hearing is tested. What will happen in us and to us as we go through the story, will be influenced by how we hear what is said, and how it is said, as much as it influenced those who were in the story. The history of theology and denominations illustrates that – the differences between those who hear the sound of the Spirit as it is blowing, and those who choose not to; those who hear the tongues and sneer or mock or reject them like those in 2:13 or those who hear and are amazed and remain open and do what all good hearing encourages us to do – humbly ask about it.

Penetecost was one massive hearing event, according to Peter. “The promised Holy Spirit has poured out what you now… hear.” (2:33) Thousands of people are hearing so many different languages (2:6) and hearing these tongues “declaring the wonders of God.” (2:11) How things are heard decides what happens next. In 2:37 they heard and “were cut to the heart”; in 4:4 they heard and believed; in 4:24 when the apostles heard the threats against their lives they heard with spiritual ears and their hearing did not give entrance to fear but to faith and the result of that hearing was they “raised their voices together in prayer to God”; in 10:22 God sent an angel to Cornelius with the simple instruction to send for Peter and hear what he had to say, and the obedience of their open hearing is in 10:44 “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard”; in 11:7 Peter heard a voice that asked him to do something so off the charts, to eat what was unclean, but because he heard and discerned the voice of the Lord, his hearing overcame the centuries of cultural and religious traditions and rules; in 11:18 they heard and had “no further objections”; in 13:48 they heard and “were glad and honored the Word of the Lord”; in 14:9 a crippled man in Lystra listened and what he heard quickened his faith and he was healed; in 16:14 “Lydia attended” and the Lord “opened her heart” and the fruits of her attentiveness: her household was converted, a church was planted in her home, and Philippi became the springboard for mission to barbarian Europe; in 21:20 they heard and “praised God”; the constant refrain of the apostles was that they witnessed to what they had heard; that was Paul’s testimony in his hearing of the audible voice that called him then to be a witness of “what you have heard” (22:15).

But of course, there are the terrible warnings and terrible results that come from ears that will not hear aright. Amidst all the wonderful fruits of good hearing, were “uncircumcised ears” and “covered ears” (7: 51,57); in 5:33 there were those who were furious; in 7:57 those who heard “gnashed their teeth” such was the anger and contempt; in 17:32 the hearing resulted in sneering mockery and in 22:22 those who listened demanded that Paul be removed from the earth; in 27:11 the failure to listen to the word of the Lord through Paul resulted in shipwreck and loss. Anything else to add? Do you remember the repeated reference in all three synoptic gospels of Isaiah’s reference (6:9-10) to dull and calloused ears? How does Luke conclude his Acts narrative? In 28:25 Luke describes Paul’s “final statement.” What does he say? Acts finished with the same passage Jesus used, a chilling word for the Jews. Paul’s last words in this history of the early church are: “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles and they will listen.” So Acts begins with an appeal to listen and ends with an implied judgment and terrible loss on the failure to do so. I rest the case. We asked the Lord to speak to our spiritual ears the word he pronounced over the deaf-mute: “Ephphatha!” “Be opened!”

Pastorally yours,

Stuart

DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT

Dearest family,

First of all, let me say how encouraged I have been by the number of you who have responded to me about Sunday’s message. That tells me the Lord is doing something and there is a timeliness to all this. I focused on Paul’s word to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:19-20) not to quench the Spirit’s fire or hold prophecies in contempt. I asked you to discuss three questions among yourselves at different junctures in the message: What are the possible arguments for or against, running a church service in a very controlled, platform-dominated manner? In a context where there is an openness to the expression of spiritual gifts, to every member ministry, what does that require of leadership and what gifting’s and qualities do they need to encourage and oversee this in a community? When Paul admonishes us to test the spirits, what kind of tests do you think should be applied? You may want to re-visit these in home-group this week, having now heard the message. If you were not present on Sunday, given the important pastoral and directional nature of the message, I would urge you to try and download it and give it a hearing, as I cannot cover the small-print of all the points in this letter.

I began by suggesting some ways that the Spirit can be quenched in public services: control, culture, consensus, concern, criticism, contempt, confusion. Some of the qualities that an openness to the public expression of the gifts required of leadership included: spiritual security, humility (not threatened by others’ gifts), submission to the Holy Spirit, discernment, courage and boldness, fear of God more than people, trust, knowledge of the Word, a strong pastoral heart. There are two issues here:

Do not quench what is allowable, desirable, normal and genuine: This is easier said than done. There are challenges in making room for the Spirit. It requires walking by faith, relinquishing control. But this does not pre-empt the need for godly order, sensitive pastoral leadership and co-operative congregational discipline. Paul’s teaching to the Corinthians (12-14) on spiritual gifts is clear. They are not all vested in one person, or even a few: “all men…to one…to another…not made up of one part but many… everyone has…” But there are some criteria for expression and exercise of these gifts.

• Order: “one at a time…God is not a God of disorder but peace…Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way…” (14:27, 33, 40) Sometimes zeal and enthusiasm can quench the Spirit’s intentions as effectively as laziness and neglect. 

• Intelligibility: “I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others…” In other words, there is an appropriate sensitivity to context, and Paul is aware of what is best if unbelievers are present. (This may make for a greater freedom of gifts in some contexts than others e.g. in home-groups where all are believers.) 

• Discernment: “weigh carefully what is said…the spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets…” (14:29, 32)

Paul’s particular concern here is the loss of the prophetic, either because prophets refuse to speak, or prophets are being refused to speak. Paul told the Corinthians he wanted everyone to prophesy, and they should especially desire the gift of prophecy. If prophecy brings comfort, exhortation and edification to the church who would not want it? Why would you diminish it or extinguish it? It is anti-discipleship and anti-church growth.
Do not allow what is false or fleshly: There is a big difference between something that is wrong and something that is immature. Releasing and encouraging the immature takes as much pastoral gifting as discerning and dealing with what is false and fleshly. Sometimes a contribution may not be wrong by truth tests but still inappropriate, in timing or in connection with what the Lord is doing or saying. Godly testing, evaluating, discerning is necessary in order to hold on to the good and hold off on the bad. The purpose of this is to loose not limit; to nurture not neglect; to excel not expel; to be loving not legalistic; to be constructive not critical; to encourage not judge; to include not exclude. There is a holy balance between testing and trusting: leaders trusting the congregation’s gifts, congregation’s trusting the leaders’ discernment, leaders and congregations testing together. So what is the testing? Paul doesn’t go into any details here but we are not without instruction on this.

I summarized some possible tests as follows:

1. The test of faithfulness 

• To the person of Jesus: “Test the spirits…this is how…every spirit that recognizes that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” (1 Jn. 4:1-3) “No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:3) It’s all about personal relationship with Jesus as Lord. Who is in charge? Who gets the glory? 

• To the grace of the gospel: “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” (Gal. 1:8) Is what is said in accord with the “once for all” faith that was entrusted to the saints. (Jude v3) 

• To the truth of scripture: “The Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11) It is interesting that there was possibly a foundational issue for the Thessalonians that was discerned right at the beginning and that had not matured, that had made them vulnerable. There was a lot of unexamined teaching out there. As always it was based more on opinions, hunches, and intuitions.

2. The test of fruitfulness 

• The character and conduct of a person: “Watch out for false prophets…by their fruit you will recognize them…they come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ferocious wolves.” (Mt. 7:15) In Jn. 10 Jesus gives a whole sermon on this matter, and teaches us to check the messenger, check the message, check the motives (how about money, glory, influence, power, vanity) and check the means and the methods. The fruits of the Spirit give a fair assessment of character and conduct. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23) There will be no spotlight on the speaker, either through self-promotion or adulation of others. The true response to what is true will be, in Paul’s words, “God is really among you!” (1 Cor. 14:25) not, what a great prophet or speaker you had there. Who are you most conscious of? Is it about the self-consciousness of the speaker or about a God-consciousness? Who gets the glory? 

• The evidence of the fruit of edification: “Everyone who prophesies speaks for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort…he who prophesies edifies the church… all of these must be done for the strengthening of the church… so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.” (1 Cor. 14:3, 26, 31) Paul gives a similar test in Eph. 4:29, an ABC: is it appropriate, is it beneficial, is it constructive. Does it build up, encourage, comfort or does it condemn, bring fear or confusion. 

• Submission to leadership and congregation: Gifts of leadership, gifts of the Spirit only have meaning in so far as they serve the community, not the leader or the gift bearer. Where there is that spirit of submission, there will be humility, and an openness to testing and instruction and correction if necessary. One of the fruits will be peace in and acceptance by the congregation. There is a corporate apprehension of truth not just by the leaders.

So is it possible for the Spirit to be quenched in public services? Yes. Who can be responsible? All of us!

I am giving you a fresh call to a corporate agreement, all of us, everyone, regardless of our roles and responsibilities, that we will not despise the freedom for the exercise of spiritual gifts and not take for granted what is made available to us in this community. If you don’t use it you will lose it. It is not about the presence of Gifts but the presence of God. There are two basic ways to quench a fire:

1. Do something: extinguish it (the spiritual version of water, chemicals, blankets) Smother it, stifle it, douse it.

2. Do nothing: “Where there is no fuel the fire goes out.” (Pvb. 26:20) Neglect, laziness, failure to tend and feed it. Calvin wrote: “People are guilty of quenching the Spirit when instead of fanning the flames of their spiritual life more and more as they should, they make God’s gifts void through neglect.”

Usually with most people it is never an either/or but a both/and.

As a church, we determine that we are going to fuel the fire, not quench it. We determine that we are going to grace not grieve the Spirit. Let Jesus have the last word. You know the story of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins. The key point was that the bridegroom seemed a long time in coming, so half of them let their fire go out. Interestingly enough, it is in the context of talking about the return of Christ, the bridegroom, that Paul gives his injunction not to quench the Spirit’s fire. The message of Jesus is the spark for that of Paul. “Look to your jars!” Feed the flames. It’s all about living a ‘ready’ life – ready for when the master comes.

• “Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor (boiling heat) serving the Lord.” (Rom. 12:11) 

• “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands.” (2 Tim. 1:6)

In our personal lives, let us not grieve the Spirit. In our corporate life and gatherings, let us not quench the Spirit

Pastorally yours,

Stuart

GENERATIONAL HEALING

Dearest family,

Thank you for your patient attention on Sunday as we dealt with some aspects of the subject of generational sin and generational healing. If you were not present you can download the ‘genogram’ that is referred to in the message, as well as downloading the message.

You’ve just noticed that the print got bigger, right? Here’s why: because I want to make sure that if you are part of the community of COSC and have never been through the Healing Prayer Training, email Monique Monique@christourshepherd.org today and sign up for the next two Saturdays. This is an opportunity not to be missed. Don’t forget that Monique also invited any who have already been through it, but would benefit from a refresher, to also sign up. Our goal is that every member of COSC is equipped to be part of this ministry, not just in the church but amongst your friends and family.

One of the consistent issues that we have to deal with in our healing prayer ministry is the present effect of past familial and generational influences. The continuing experience of the consequences of familial and generational patterns of behavior and bondage, of attitudes and actions, of dispositions and diseases, of idolatries and ideologies, of accidents and addictions, of weaknesses and compulsions, of lust and license, of pathologies and psychologies, of fears and failures, of violence and violation, of ungodly cultural practices and traditions and religious beliefs, of losses and traumas, of unresolved injustices and unrequited grievances and griefs, of national or tribal pride and ethnocentric independence and isolation, of curses and evil vows – that are perpetuated and continue to oppress and depress, sometimes like shadows, that can never quite be evaded or avoided, sometimes like a weight that cannot be lifted, sometimes like something on the inside that cannot be expelled, as if it were a part of the biology. An unknown voice once poignantly put it like this: “I have Jesus in my heart but grandpa in my bones!”

Because of the prevalence and sometimes the virulence of these generational issues in people’s lives, and given the many bad effects and consequences, we wanted to offer an opportunity for some house-cleaning right at the beginning of a new year, and for some spiritual settlement of things that many of you may be dealing with, especially some of you who have come to COSC recently - things that need to be confessed, repented of and cut off, where cleansing needs to be experienced. It is good for everyone to be familiar with the subject even though not everyone will be affected by it in the same way. To this end we arranged three distinct sessions:

1. On Sunday I affirmed some spiritual facts about generational sin and the spiritual need for generational healing.

2. Next Sunday the 17th, for any who missed Sunday, or for any who want to have some more practical help to assemble and discern your family tree (genogram), Celia will run a short class before church at 9:00a.m.

3. On Tuesday January 19th, at 7:15p.m., our monthly Healing Prayer Service, we are going to conduct a Generational Healing Eucharist, as we have done in the past, where we will bring the record of our generational sin, and our need for healing to the communion table and put it under the blood of Christ.

The fact is that we do not get to choose our parents and all that constitutes our racial, geographical, social identity. Maybe for some, generational healing has to do with a holy acceptance of that identity. We may wish we were born other than we are, whether other conception, whether other race, other gender, other parenting, other social and familial circumstances. Our birth marks the beginning of a new generation, that is inevitably, inextricably, linked with the generation that conceived and bore us, and the entire history of preceding generations, with their pains and their pleasures, their vices and their victories. There is a sense in which that little newborn that you are looking at in the maternity ward, is the product and sum of all that has happened before. There is a resurgence of prior generations, immediately represented by the competing discussions about who the child looks like, as both sides of the previous generation stake their claims. There is a sense of mystery, of depth, of awe, as when a submarine or a whale suddenly and impressively breaks the surface of the deeps. However, there are many different dimensions of inheritance. Obviously there is the biological, the genetic, the physical. There is the material, the means of provision, that often determine so many social and emotional choices. But there is another crucial dimension of inheritance: the spiritual, because we are essentially and vitally spirits wrapped in a body.

The scriptures tell us that as Christians, we are in the generation of Jesus Christ. We have a new Father, a new family. The iniquity of the generations was laid on Christ. We are now in the Body of Christ. And grandpa’s bones are not in that body!

And don’t forget to sign up for Healing Prayer Training!

Pastorally yours,

Stuart

HELPER IN ANOTHER'S JOY

Dearest family,

On the second Sunday in Advent, I drew your attention to the number of themes of gospel truth and spiritual life that were embedded in the incarnation narrative, the overture of the New Testament. On the third Sunday of Advent, I pointed out the obvious theme of joy, that regardless of the national or personal context that was dark and destitute, despairing or discouraging, joy kept breaking in, breaking through and breaking out. As most of you know, every year for nearly 30 years, I have written an advent poem to capture my meditation of that year, and not surprisingly, what I spoke on my last two messages was the simple theme of a simple poem that I present to you as a Christmas meditation and a summary of the pre-Christmas message.

Surprising Joy by Stuart McAlpine

1. Above the sunken hope the incense rose. The silence of four hundred years screamed pain. The worship could not hide the welts and woes Of spirits crushed by godless Roman reign. But if her heart was righteous, why so raw? There was no reason for prayers to be bold, This was no season for faith to be firm. The expectation was just ‘the-same-old’, The future devoured by the canker-worm. But still the liturgy must be intoned, Without a sense of being seen or heard. Why would this priest believe God was enthroned? There were no wonders and there was no Word. “Your asking has been answered,” spoke a voice. “He’ll be a joy and many will rejoice.”

2. Aaron’s descendant, perfect pedigree, In God’s sight upright, keeping all the law, Observing regulations blamelessly, But if her heart was righteous, why so raw? Because it had outpoured infertile tears, Bearing her barrenness with public shame; Because she was now well along in years, And never would an infant get to name. The brokenness of longings crushed and killed, The loneliness of childless days and nights, The sadness of a crib that was unfilled, All sighed the loss of motherhood’s delights. “Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear a boy.” “The babe within my womb did leap for joy.”

3. All was not calm, or gentle, mild and bright. At first, there were no angels’ songs to hark, The peace was pricked with sharpened shards of fright. Virginity seemed threatened in the dark. And Bethlehem not quite so still did lie As census-citizenry fought for beds; And not so silent did the stars go by, As visions tore the dreamless sleep to shreds. Too young, too old, too sinful, just too bad; The litany of threat, chillingly clear, Too late, too shameful, too doubting, too sad; Divorce, disgrace, disturbed, terrified, fear. “Be not afraid for I am heaven’s envoy, I bring to you the good news of great joy.”

4. My circumstances do disqualify This one, in my mind, from your graciousness, And convince and condemn me to deny Deliverance from my unworthiness; That I could be a player in your acts Of incarnation, of your kingdom come. Of incarnation, of your kingdom come. I bow my knee and submit all the facts Of my life to your generous wisdom, And as at Jesus’, my Christ’s, promised birth, Let not resigned despair or dull dismay Obscure the revelation of His worth, Obstruct the ending of my joy’s delay. “Make me hear joy,” as David did entreat; You said if I asked “joy will be complete.”

I have labored the point that joy is a community business, a community fruit. Are there any clues in the life of the early church community about how to consciously cultivate this DNA of community joy, this fruit of the Spirit, this corporate experience of living on the vine? Again, clearly it is a gift and fruit of the magnificent work of the Holy Spirit; it flows from our abiding life in Christ, the Vine. Paul was arguably the most effective apostolic church planter and community builder. He wrote the book on koinonia, on fellowship. What can we glean from him as foundational to any Christian community, whether a local church or an itinerant missions team? Is it complicated? No, it is almost effortlessly accessible as we co-operate with the Spirit’s work and Jesus’ desires. My key scripture was 2 Corinthians 1:24 where hear Paul says “We are helpers of your joy.” There’s that idea of being, not the source, but the support of another’s joy. Paul saw the cultivation of this fruit of joy in others in the community as a goal of his work and an evidence of his ministry. Here is a basic rationale for ministry. Can you make the connection between the fruit of the Spirit that is joy in your life, and the life and health of this community? Do you, can you, see yourself as a helper of another’s joy in this community that is COSC? Could you stand and say to everyone else at COSC, like Paul, “I am a helper of your joy.” Will you make this an intentional part of your job description this year? Is this descriptive of how you choose to see yourself and how you relate to each other? Is it a key motive in how you lead or serve? So how can you help another’s joy? This illustrates again that joy is a by-product, in this case of how you relate to another branch that is rooted in the vine.

Here is a very brief summary of my points about how the early church were encouraged to become helpers of another’s joy, in a way that increased the joy of the community. You will have to download message for the added commentary. This is not the perfect 10 – but enough to get you thinking and hopefully, feeling.

Summary:

1. Truly loving one another from the heart will result in the sharing of your joy with another which makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Jn. 15:9-12)

2. Taking joy in another with the resultant affirmation and encouragement that flows from that makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (1 Thess. 2:19-20; 1 Thess. 3:9; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 4:1)

3. Your commitment to care for another and refresh them by your love and kindness and healing ministry makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Philemon v7; 2 Cor. 2:3; 2 Cor. 7:13)

4. Coming to another, or to any task with godly joy, makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Rom. 15:2; Acts 21:17)

5. Your faithful testimony, your dutiful and at times against the odds unspectacular obedience, your walking in the truth makes you a helper of their joy and increases joy in the community. (3 Jn.v4)

6. Your commitment to godly loyalty and reliability and productivity and order and stability makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Col. 2:5)

7. Adhering to a biblical theology of suffering, and identifying with the suffering of others, makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Phil. 2:17-18; Hebr. 12:2)

8. Refusing to marginalize the place of the Word and the place of prayer, makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Phil. 1:4; 1 Thess. 1:6)

9. When you respect and honor each other in the scriptural structures and procedures that determine the exercise and flow of godly authority, and submit to one another in these relationships, then this makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Hebr. 13:17)

10. When you joyfully submit in relationships, when you joyfully do all necessary to walk in unity with the saints then this makes you a helper of others’ joy and increases joy in the community. (Phil. 2:2)

Rejoice dear-hearts, and again I say, rejoice. Could we be a joyful bunch this year on the vine that is Christ, whose sap is the joy of the Spirit. Could we make it our personal and therefore communal resolution that as for me and my house, I/we will be a helper of another’s joy.

Joyfully yours,

Stuart