Category : Revival

in Revival, The River Church, Uncategorized

From Where I Stand

From where I stand most church people really don’t care about making a difference.

From where I stand most church people really aren’t bothered about changing.

From where I stand most church people wont be buying your book/cd/mp3.

From where I stand most church people wont be doers of the Word.

From where I stand most church people are most interested in themselves.

From where I stand most church people doubt far more than they believe.

From where I stand most church people are timid and cowardly.

From where I stand most church people are convinced they cant afford to give.

From where I stand most church people will take everything and give nothing without a conscience.

From where I stand most church people wont tell others about Christ and His church.

From where I stand most church people are way too self-absorbed to catch God’s heart.

From where I stand most church people follow their emotions not Christ.

From where I stand most church people really don’t give a damn about you.

 

Thank God, from where I stand you’re not most people. Neither are our faithful church workers.

in 5Fold Ministry, Christ & Culture, Leadership, Revival

Has my destiny been derailed?

Destiny has become another one of those christianese buzz words that lacks Biblical definition and consequently is a vague, mystical subject that we usher to the dark zone so as not to answer it. Yet destiny understood becomes a powerful ally. Destiny motivates us to move forward; it endues our lives with hope that God has a future for us that is better than the drudgery of crunching through the menial and mundane.

The Bible teaches us that God has a plan, purpose and pursuit for every one of us. It is written within the DNA of our hearts. As believers it is from this place that the indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to fulfil our destiny by inviting us on a highly personalised mission with Him.

Even though we don’t understand the concept of destiny we all refuse to accept that our life has no meaning or purpose or value.

The question is, “Has my destiny been derailed because I made a mistake or some-one wronged me?” Continue Reading

in 5Fold Ministry, Christ & Culture, Revival, The River Church

As A Missionary

Marion and I, together with our two children arrived at Heathrow on 5 August 1994 as missionaries – sent ones – to Britain. The Words of Jesus initially spoken to the early disciples are branded in the very footprints and DNA of our lives:

“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21

Jesus is of course the greatest Sent One and our finest example to model as a missionary sent with a purpose. His sending us has imprinted motivations within us that go to the core of everything we are and do here.

  1. Jesus sends you into a particular setting, place and culture, in all likelihood unlike what you are familiar with as your own. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth – we left South Africa and came to the UK, and Exeter in particular. As Jesus participated fully in the context He was sent to [except the immorality] so we have immersed ourselves into the cultural context so as to bring Christ into the culture. Continue Reading
in Bible Study, Revival

HOPE

Without hope we have hopelessness, despair and despondency. Outside God all our tests and trials, our hard times, our sufferings would crush us because they make no sense, sending us into depression and despair. HOPE is the engine of our lives:

H: He is our HELP in times of Hopelessness.

Many times our world is framed by our hopelessness. We are contained within a stronghold that says there is no way out, no HELP, no future. The man at the pool of Bethesda felt there was no one to help him, he failed to see the Healer standing right in front of him! Despair and despondency blinds us to the possibilities and help that God is trying to direct us to. Continue Reading

in Bible Study, Revival, The River Church

Thanksgiving [Not the American one]

When it comes to praise and worship I don’t think there are many believers who don’t have at least a few gospel tracks on their music carrying device. Worship is the highest form of prayer and thanksgiving is the highest form of worship yet it’s absent from almost every music carrying device I know.

Thank God in everything – no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus. 1Thess 5:18 AMP

Thanksgiving is the antidote to all of that worrying, complaining, fault-finding and general negativity we so easily default to. When I’ve encouraged some downcast believer to be thankful the overwhelming response is, “Of course I’m thankful!”This response usually comes as a snap or a bite. And obviously they are not thankful. The previous days’ conversations were all monotonously filled with despondency and discouragement. Our attitude must be thankful and from that attitude we must give thanks in everything. That’s an attitude and an action.

Being thankful and giving thanks is continual. This is the will of God for us who are in Christ Jesus. It denotes abiding trust in God that He has everything in hand and is working all things out for our good. You wont find the giving of thanks on any album because it’s personal to you, your life and your context. You have to dig into your life and find the stuff to be thankful for. Worship music can for many just be the part of the background ‘noise’ to their lives. But giving thanks requires me to be present in the moment.

I want to be in the will of God. Being thankful establishes me in the will of God. When last did you set some time aside to give thanks? It should be a continual attitude and action of our lives.

 

in Good Life, Revival

Faith: Fully Persuaded

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Rom 4:21

I have heard many a Bible teacher speak the many years that went by before God finally produced baby Isaac in Sarah’s womb, struggling to give us the significance of the number 25 [the number of years it took from the promise to the fulfilment of that promise]. Then further trying to tell the hearers to hold on because 25 years to get a fulfil a promise seems like a lifetime away.

The issue is not the 25 years it took for God to ‘give life to the dead’ but the amount of time it took for Continue Reading

in 5Fold Ministry, Christ & Culture, Good Life, Revival

Prosperity 07: Blessing V Reward

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Rev 5:12

The offence or awkwardness of ‘prosperity’ to some people I believe is based on some stinking thinking about the difference between blessing and rewards. Some people believe that because they are faithful believers that they deserve or are entitled to be rewarded for that here on earth. Yet it’s not really reward they are looking for, rather it’s blessing. Our reward is in Heaven. As believers we are empowered to prosper and through: the exercise of your faith; operating in line with God’s principles; employing, utilising and sharpening your abilities, gifts and talents and building great people skills we will be blessed. This blessing may be any number of things so that our life here on earth will be more effective, more productive, less stressful and more comfortable. Continue Reading

in 5Fold Ministry, Christ & Culture, Revival

Prosperity 06: Absolute Truth v Relevant Truth

The Ten Commandments are God’s highest moral law and absolute truth. They are non-negotiable, more relevant than ever before and the basis of all relationships we will ever have; both with God and with man. Jesus summed them up as the the Law of Love – loving God and loving our fellow man.

Yet today at best for most believers they are really just the Ten Suggestions. The majority of believers worldwide couldn’t name them, certainly not in order – and even less understand them – and will excuse their ignorance under the guise of ‘love’. When pursuing them for a definition of love again the vast majority of believers will settle for an emotional response rather than a principled one. Although love in various parts of the Bible does translate love as an emotion, by far the greatest definitions of love the Bible gives is that it is a verb, an action! [see 1Cor 13] And action as the act of our wills rather than the follow through of a good feeling.

So if we cannot tell what the Ten Commandments are because they are ‘irrelevant’ and give an emotional response to our definition of ‘love’ then we are left with today’s church which wants to interpret

Continue Reading

in 5Fold Ministry, Adventures in God, Good Life, Revival

Faith: Our God Is A Faith God

Have the faith of God. Mark 11:22

Listening to so many ‘oh so important’ [not] evangelicals knock the message of faith and the principles of it, they don’t realise that despite their spiritual ignorance they’re actually knocking God because He is a Faith God. When Jesus disciples are awestruck at the fig tree being withered up from the roots by Jesus cursing it the day before, He responds to them with the words, “Have the faith of God”. [ Mark 11:22  original Greek; Youngs Literal Translation]. Jesus calls His disciples to operate on a  level of faith that belongs to God’s nature; beyond mere human faith.

God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  Rom 12:3 

When you give your life to Christ you are born again. Simultaneously at that very moment that you receive the very nature of God Himself within your spirit you received the same Continue Reading

in 5Fold Ministry, Good Life, Revival

Faith: Heaven’s Currency

But without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him! [NKJV Translation]  Heb 11:6 

As a nation’s monetary unit of currency is used to acquire natural goods and services so faith is heaven’s unit of currency. Money on it’s own is meaningless. It’s paper or metal that you cannot shelter in; cannot drink or eat to quench thirst or satisfy hunger; cannot medicate sickness or disease with it; cannot solve problems with it etc. It is what money empowers you to do that makes it important.

It’s not the proportion of the faith that you possess; it’s the proportion you use.

So it is with faith. On it’s own it has no meaning at all but with it we can touch and access the very realm of God, His angels and every resource He possesses on behalf of humanity. When faith is released Heaven enters the room. The evangelical world Continue Reading