Th Kite, by John Newton

Once upon a time a paper kite 

mounted to a wondrous height,

Where, giddy with its elevation, 

it thus expressed self admiration:

“See how yon crowds of gazing people 

admire my flight above the steeple;

How they would wonder if they knew 

all that a kite like me could do!

Were I but free, I’d take a flight 

and pierce the clouds beyond their sight;

But, ah, like a poor prisoner bound,

 my string confines me to the ground.

I’d brave the eagle’s towering wing 

might I but fly without a string.”

It tugged and pulled, while thus it spoke, 

to snap the string.

At last it broke.

Deprived at once of all its stay, 

in vain it tried to soar away.

Unable its own weight to bear, 

it fluttered downward through the air.

Unable its own course to guide, 

the winds soon plunged it in the tide.

Ah, foolish kite, thou hadst no wing, 

how couldst thou fly without a string?

Oh, Lord, I see

 how much this kite resembles me!

Forgetful that by Thee I stand, 

impatient of Thy ruling hand;

How oft I’ve wished to break the lines 

Thy wisdom for my lot assigns.

How oft indulged a vain desire

 for something more, or something higher.

But for Thy grace and love divine ,

a fall thus dreadful had been mine!

****

Gospel Truth

Speaking of JESUS, the Bible says ... 

Isaiah 53[6]

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way; 

and the LORD has laid on him 

the iniquity of us all.

[10] Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 

and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

[6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way; 

Sheep really are dumb creatures. The first thing you notice about them is that they all follow each other, even though none of them knows where they are going. Another thing you notice about sheep is they are vulnerable. They are not good at defending themselves.

Nowadays shepherds pen them in to keep them safe. In the olden days the shepherd really was that, a Sheep-herder. The shepherd would herd the sheep and lead them to good grazing ground and keep them safe. Without a shepherd the sheep would certainly stray and that would mean real trouble.

The Bible says that we are like sheep without a shepherd, that is sheep that have gone astray. 

If we are honest, we cannot deny this is true. The truth is we pretty much totally ignore God and do our own thing. Just like sheep we have gone our own way, like sheep we have followed the crowd. The crowd of lost humanity. We have joined them, thrown our lot in with them, believed what they believed, desired what they desire, valued what they have valued, behaved like they behave and have had little or no regard for our maker. Every single one of us has turned our back on God.

In turning away from God we have all made ourselves filthy with sin. This is what 'iniquity' is, sin.

Another metaphor the Bible speaks of is 'robes of righteousness, pure and white' but we have stained ours with sin. Every wrong deed we have done is a stain. Every wrong thought, word, attitude of heart is a stain on your robe and mine. That is why JESUS said ...

Matthew 12 [36] 

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. [37] For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

I cannot imagine how many careless words I have spoken, I cannot remember a fraction of them. But each one is a stain and I will have to account for every one of them - not a single one will be forgotten on that day.

 That is also why Jesus warns us ... 

Luke 12 [2] 

There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known. [3] What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

and ... 

1 Corinthians 4 [5] 

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. 

and ... 

Hebrews 4 [12] 

For the word of God is living and active. ... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We are like a piece of rotten fruit that looks scrumptious on the outside, but when you bite into it is it black with rot, crawling with maggots - yuk, you spew it straight out. 

1 Samuel 16

[7] But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

In other words, we look at a person and think, "They're ok" but God sees right through a person, God sees what is on the inside. He sees the whole person. He sees you and He sees me.

Adam and Eve 

Adam and Eve sinned and when they did the Bible tells us they did two things. They hid and they tried to cover up their nakedness.

We do the same, we try to hide the truth about ourselves and we try to cover up our nakedness, or to put it another way, we don't want anyone to see our shame. But the very fact they wanted to hide things exposed their shame, and it is the same for us. 

"Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

When I was a little boy, about 7 years old, there was a skanky family that lived across the road. I went into their house a few times. Every time the wall of smell hit me as their front door would open. It was overpowering. On one occasion I came out of their home, and as I walked my hand brushed my jacket and I felt something wet - it was poo! Yuk! It was on my jacket and on my hand, their poo! It made me sick! I was really angry, disgusted and upset. Our robes are unimaginably worse. That is just the sad truth.

We, like sheep have followed the crowd and wandered so far from God we are lost. We hide most of our wickedness in our thoughts. We have all committed crimes against God and humanity in our minds and hearts. We thought 'no-one knows', but the truth about us is not hidden from God. But ...

The Lord has laid on Him [Jesus], the iniquity of us all.

Good News!

Here is the good news for us, the amazing news.

The Lord, who sees every stain on our robes, takes the robes off us and lays them on Jesus! Think about that. The God who sees everything and to whom we must give an account is the one who takes away all our sin and has laid it upon Jesus. Not some of it but absolutely ALL of it. 

But it goes further than that. It tells us that Jesus' life was made 'A guilt offering'. All the filth we are stained with means we are all carrying a heavy load of guilt. For us it is normal to live life weighed down with a load of guilt. But we are a million miles from how God intends us to be - guilt free! Imagine how different we would be if we had never, ever sinned at all. We would know nothing at all of guilt or shame. We would have no regrets - not a single one. God does not erase the stain on guilt from our memory, but he has dealt with it so that it never comes up in our relationship with Him. So far as He is concerned, it is as though we have never sinned.

Psalm 103

[11] For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 

so great is his love for those who fear him;

[12] as far as the east is from the west, 

so far has he removed our transgressions [sins] from us.

God did this because He loves us. Consider how much He loves us to do that for us. 

Consider JESUS kindness to us. For JESUS, to have to put on our filthy robes was awful. It was bad enough me getting someone else's poo on my jacket and on myself. JESUS took upon Himself the sin of the whole world and experienced all of our guilt. He did it so that we could know the joy and freedom and lightness of spirit that comes with being completely forgiven by God.

But as we close these thoughts we must remember the most important thing of all, that is the reason for all our mess in the first place.

[6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way; 

God has dealt with all our sin so that we can stop going astray, turn back to Him, stop following the crowd and instead follow Him. That is where sin begins, turning our backs on God. Turning back to Him is what the Bible calls repentance. It means acknowledging the truth. That we have ignored God, that we have sinned, that we do need forgiveness and that rather than turning our backs on Him, we are now coming back to Him, acknowledging He is God and He alone, through JESUS death on the cross can save us from the ultimate consequences of our sin.

What will you do? Continue to turn your back on God or turn back to God?

If you choose to turn your back on God, then you turn your back on the only one who can deal with the problem of your sin. You turn your back on the one who loves you and offers you salvation.

If you turn back to Him, you can experience forgiveness and the joy of knowing JESUS as your great Shepherd.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd,* I shall not be in want.*

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters,*

[3] he restores my soul.* 

He guides me* in paths of righteousness* 

for his name's sake.*

[4] Even though I walk 

through the valley of the shadow of death,** 

I will fear no evil,* 

for you are with me;* 

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me.

[5] You prepare a table* before me 

in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil;* 

my cup* overflows.

[6] Surely goodness and love* will follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD 

forever.

Want to know more, come to church. St Georges Hall, Sunday @ 10.30am.

Are you too proud to acknowledge JESUS?

Psalm 91[2] I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, 

my God, in whom I trust.”

In 1992 I did a mission at Glastonbury festival. I will never forget speaking to one spaced out couple. They said to me, "Christian people are weak, that is why they are Christians, their faith is a crutch to help them through because they cannot make it alone". 

They were quite right, I cannot imagine life without Jesus. I am very proud to say of Him, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust".

But here is the truth: EVERYONE is weak! My newfound friends at Glastonbury soon found out they were weak. Weak and vulnerable, far more vulnerable than me.

As we talked it became clear that their lives, their joy and happiness, meaning and purpose was all bound up in each other. As we talked it became clear to them and to me that they were a crutch to each other. If anything happened to any one of them they would be utterly devastated.  But something will happen. Even if they are faithful all their days and grow in love, death will eventually come and mercilessly rip them apart, killing one and devastating the other - and that is the very best they can hope for!

In the end that is true for everyone. No-one is self sufficient. No-one is strong. Those who think they are, are deluded. Everybody needs somebody otherwise life becomes almost unbearable. But we will all find that if, ultimately we rely on ourselves or other people, then when faced with the ultimate challenges of life THEY WILL FAIL US. Our fitness and health may give us the edge over a cancer, our loved ones may give us strength to fight another day, doctors and nurses may be able to "save us", but not ultimately. Ultimately they will all come to the end of them selves and will be powerless against the relentless enemy of life and relationships - DEATH!

Ultimately JESUS does not fail! He alone is ULTIMATELY sufficient, trustworthy, reliable, dependable and able to save - even from death because He alone has conquered death.

Christians have the same kind of people everyone else has, the difference is they know that none of those people will help an iota when confronted with the ultimate realities of death and the judgement that will follow. Only JESUS will stand, and as a follower, I and every believer will stand in Him!

So Christian, be proud to be a follower of Jesus. Be proud and unashamed to confess Him! Do not believe the propaganda that would make you feel embarrassed. Of course it is easier to dutifully follow the crowd like everyone else, gullibly believing what everyone else believes, and why do they believe what they believe?  Because what they believe is true? No! But just because they are told to believe by the PC police, or the biased Atheist Scientists or the school teacher or the politicians or "everyone else" or others from the so-called "establishment" who know nothing about God and Jesus.  They are the ignorant ones, they have never found out about God and Jesus, believing them is the easy option. 

But remember Jesus said ...

Matthew 10:[32] “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. [33] But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

On that great and glorious day, nothing else will matter to us except that JESUS acknowledges us as His own. Everything will depend upon Him acknowledging us and there can be nothing more terrifying than the utter hopelessness of being disowned forever by JESUS. I don't want that for myself, for you or anyone.

Hold your head high and proudly say of HIM,  “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Belonging and the Church

1 Corinthians 12:14-25

Struggle with a sense of ‘belonging’ in the local church is an all too common and distressing experience for many people. This is a serious issue as it can have a very unsettling, isolating affect. Church should be ‘game day’ for Christians, a time when the family of God experiences relief from its presence ‘in the world’ to gather as ‘one people’ in joyful assembly, to worship our Great God and King Jesus.

By the end of a worship gathering, the family of God should leave church renewed, encouraged, built up with hope and joy restored as we prepare for the adventure, and often battle of another week.

When people feel they don’t belong, the whole church experience becomes negative, depressing and isolating. Far from ‘game day’, people leave the church feeling relieved to get out of the place! This is serious as it often results in believers concluding, ‘I don’t belong here so I will leave’. Sometimes they will move on to other churches, worse, they give up on church altogether.

Making sense of it all
The Apostle Paul uses various metaphors for the church such as a building or a body. We can be sure, God never leaves the ‘living stones’ of His precious building laying around like excess debris. He never amputates limbs as though they are not needed. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul addresses the very issue of ‘belonging’ and as ever, we find ourselves having to re-think our whole approach to the subject.

1 Corinth 12:13 "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit". (ESV)
Here is our basis for ‘belonging’. We belong to the church by virtue of our being born again of the Spirit. ‘Belonging’ to God’s Church is a spiritual thing.
‘In one Spirit we were all baptised into one body’.

That is a strange statement and needs a little theological unpacking - or you can skip to ‘so we can understand the text like this’.

Unpacking the text
Many versions of the Bible translate the Greek word ‘en’ as ‘by’ so the text reads, ‘By one Spirit we were all baptised into one body’.
However, in Greek the word ‘en’ is correctly translated ‘in’. The problem is, the text then seems to make little sense to us. The answer to the dilemma is to realise the word ‘in’ had a much broader semantic range than it does today, so that it was used in the way we use the word ‘by’, hence the reason for many translators translating it so.
However, Paul has chosen his words carefully, he could have easily used the designated Greek word for ‘by’ as he often does elsewhere, but he decided to plonk for ‘en’. Now we should ask ‘why?’
The answer is, I believe (as do others such as ‘Fee’) that ‘en’ though more difficult and thoughtful , it also gives a richer meaning. We should understand ‘en’ to mean both ‘in’ and ‘by’ because both are true.

So we can understand the text like this…
We are spirit creatures since we have been born again. We are no longer just ‘physical' beings. It is the ‘one Spirit’ that ultimately sets God’s children apart from all others. Not theology, nationality, denomination, feelings etc. If a person is born of the Holy Spirit, then regardless of their theology, habits, life etc – they are a child of God. I imagine the thief on the cross did not have great theology!

So we are Spirit creatures and it is ‘In the one Spirit’ and ‘by the one spirit’ we were ‘baptised’ or ‘plunged’ completely and totally into one body – that is the body of Christ. It is not our ‘blood’ we have in common that makes us one people, but it is ‘the Spirit’! Now that, and that alone is the basis of our belonging.

The flesh is divided
It was not in the flesh or by the flesh we were plunged into one body. That which is of the flesh will be divided.

That means, the more worldly minded we are, the more we will have problems fitting together as the body of Christ, the more spiritually minded we are, the more spirit-filled we are, the more we will be at ease in the body.

When we feel like we don’t fit in, we often reason to ourselves, “I’m not really ‘one of them’, if I was more like ‘one of them’, I would fit in with them and be a part of it”.

This is exactly what Paul addresses in verses 14 - 20.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Paul is arguing here that we are not meant to all be the same! We are not meant to be ‘more like them’. That is worldly thinking. It is of the flesh. In the world you can fit in at the golf club, if you are middle classed, good at golf and have a slick set of clubs. You can fit in at the local youth club if you’re a youth, into their kind of music and clothes. But it is not meant to be that way in the body of Christ. All who have been born of the Spirit belong!

It is the fact that , in the body of Christ, you will find a diverse bunch of people you would never find together anywhere else, that makes the church so amazing and pleasing to the Lord.

Eyes are not like ears – and are not meant to be. Feet are not like hands and are not meant to be. You are not like others, and you are not meant to be! Just as body parts are different with different purposes, so to the church. In fact, Paul tells us that if we were all the same, we would be a monstrosity, imagine a whole body was just one big eye! Just because you are not ‘like’ others you see in the church, you are no less a part of the body of Christ. That is the truth of God’s word.

When we feel like we don't fit in, our starting point must be God's word. However I feel, I am a legitimate member of the body! We work from that basis.

Everyone needed
In the same line of thought Paul comes at it from another angle. To those who would say, “so and so is a bit odd – we don’t need him”, Paul  has a clear message.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

There is one word that perfectly describes anyone who would say, “We don’t need so and so”, that word is ‘WRONG!’ In fact Paul tells us, the seemingly less significant parts are often the most important! (verse 22).
Just as it is worldly to think, “because I am not like so and so, I do not belong”, so it is worldly to think “We have no need of so and so”. Sometimes it is out of prideful superiority that people think such things. Sometimes it is because of jealousy. Sometimes it is because we think life would be easier without them. None of those reasons count.

It is because of the flesh, because of worldliness the church and individuals within the church struggle in these ways. That is not necessarily bad, we are at wherever we’re at. No baby is born mature! We all have to grow.
As a church matures and as individuals in the church mature, so we grow in love and appreciation of one another, appreciating the diversity, gifting and success of one another, giving honour and dignity to each and every member – it is a godly and mature believer who does such things!

Conclusion
So, just because you feel you do not fit, you are no less a part of the body for that reason. Just because you cannot see the good in another believer and you feel they are not needed, well then you know from Paul, you have simply got it wrong! You and the church need them.

In one sense it is true to say, no-one is indispensable’, but on the other hand it is also true to say, ‘everyone is needed for the body to function as God intends’. A bird can live without wings, but it cannot fly!

Healing Service - My biggest blog ever!

First - apologies - this is a big blog!

Recently our church announced we are planning to have a kind of Healing Service. That is a service where we will invite people to come to be prayed for, for healing.

Among conservative evangelical I know, this has caused a few ripples. People think we have lost the plot and have no theological basis. Therefore I decided to write a blog on the subject. Then at least those who judge will do so on the basis of what is, and not half-baked ideas and impressions they may have.

The first thing to say is that the inspiration for this came through exegeting a text of the Bible. Now I know that fact does not make it sound - all good heresies begin with the bible. But so do good theology and good practise. So it is a good start!

Secondly, although God seems to work with and through people on the basis of faith over correct theology, that is not an excuse for having bad theology. 

Why would we hold ‘Healing Services?

This question raises two more important questions.

1. What is the biblical, theological basis for such practise?
2. What is meant by ‘Healing Service’?

I will answer (1) first.

1) What is the biblical, theological basis for such a practise?

This is not an issue of being ‘Charismatic’ or ‘non-charismatic. It is not a question of Orthodoxy but more orthopraxy.

In other words, the relevant scriptures and underlying theology for the practise is probably the agreed on by most conservative, evangelical, calvinist churches. The practical expression of that theology is what is in question.

So how do I justify the practise of going out and inviting all and sundry to a church service where we will pray for their healing?

Well, to ask the question “How do I justify…” kind of assumes I first had the idea or practise, then tried to find scripture and a theology to underpin it (a bit like those who hold to covenant theology). That is not the case. How I came to it was through exegeting two texts of scripture. The story of Jonathan and his armour bearer and the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman.

Having been inspired by those scriptures, I then looked more closely and broadly to see if this might be a legitimate way to serve God. I then suggested it to the church Leadership and we all scrutinised it together. At first my brothers were hesitant, but when they understood what I had in mind and was able to demonstrate theologically that this is not only ‘allowed’ but would be good to do, they climbed on board rather than posturing and becoming entrenched.

So, here is how I put it to my leadership.

1. I assert that Jesus in His earthly Ministry engaged in a ministry of miraculous signs. The signs included miraculous feedings, healing, casting out demons, calming storms, flattening waves etc. 
2. This ministry was intentionally aimed exclusively at Jews who were heirs of the promise and were waiting for their Messianic King to appear.
3. These signs to the Jews served specific purposes. They demonstrated the Kingdom Jesus was preaching. They evidenced that Jesus Himself is the Messiah, the King of the kingdom. And they demonstrated that in His coming Kingdom, there will be no poverty and need (Feeding of the 5000), there will be no natural disasters (calming seas and storms), there will be no spiritual forces of evil (casting out demons), there will be no sickness (healing the sick and lame), there will be no more death (raising the dead).
4. This particular ministry was for a season and was completed within Jesus earthly life. (John 17:4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do). 
5. The claim made by some that because  “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever”, He must be doing the same. However, In John 17:4 He is clear that He has now completed one work (of glorifying God through that part of His earthly ministry), and the immediate surrounding verses make it clear He was about to begin another work to glorify God - that is he was about to demonstrate the eternal love, justice and mercy of God through the cross. Jesus was the self-same Jesus in His public ministry as on the cross, but He was not doing the same thing. It was the same person - Jesus - doing different things. It does not follow that, because Jesus is the same, He must always do the same. So while Jesus most certainly is the same, yesterday, today and forever (in terms of faithfulness, reliability and character), He is not necessarily doing the same each and every day. So, that Jesus is the same, is not an argument for signs and wonders today.
6. The claim made by some that, just because Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” means we can reason thus: There is no sickness, suffering, sadness and disease in heaven and we are to pray that it will be on earth ‘as it is in heaven’, so we should be praying for an end to those things on earth now, and because we are instructed so to pray, it must mean Jesus is going to do it - This a fallacious argument. Jesus was teaching us to pray for His return in Kingdom glory, and to be praying that His will (that is the unfolding of His redemptive plan) will continue speedily until completion at His return. The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is not a basis for seeing miracles of healing today.
7. Although signs and wonders did continue with the ministry of the apostles (Acts 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.) it is reasonable to conclude that theirs, was by definition a unique ministry in establishing the church and the gospel and body of christian doctrine (or at least the necessary teaching for such) for the first time on the earth. Their signs and wonders authenticated them as true servants and Apostles sent by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
8. Jesus Primary Ministry through His church now, is not a ministry of signs and wonders but of recruiting unbelievers into Jesus’ Kingdom through the preaching of the gospel and through the making of disciples.

So that is what we are doing, seeking to preach the gospel of Jesus to the lost and disciple those He gives to us.

Not All Jesus Miraculous Healings were Signs

However, notwithstanding any of the above, it is also true to say that not all of Jesus’ healings were wrought to serve as ‘signs’ of the kingdom. Some clearly were. Eg, the healing of the paralytic was clearly a sign. “That you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6) and John 9:3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Also the effect of Jesus miracles served clearly as signs, e.g. “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8:25).

But on other occasions he commanded those freed or healed to tell no-one. They were not publicity stunts but acts of compassion, love and kindness. That was not his primary way of demonstrating His love, that would happen later at the cross and then ultimately in the new heavens and earth. But that did not stop Jesus, out of love and compassion ministering healing at that time which was outside of the ‘signs’ miracles.

Then the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman shows us that Jesus had no basis at all in His ministerial purpose or God’s redemptive plan at that time for healing the woman’s daughter. In other words, He came into the earth at that time for a reason, to do something for a certain group of people within a certain circle (Jews), but she was not in that circle. She had no right or claim, no reason to expect Jesus to heal, except out of compassion, mercy and love.

Her pleas were first met with silence, second with mild rejection to say the least “I was sent for the lost sheep of Israel”, in other words “I have nothing to do with you.” and then with a moral reason with an insult thrown in “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs”. Jesus gave her no hope at all.

But, the woman knew Jesus could heal her - and that was all she needed to desperately persist - and faith got its reward.

Jesus healed the woman’s daughter, not as a sign but because of her faith which drove her.

God Does Not Answer The Prayers of Unbelievers

It is true that as a general rule, God does not respond to the prayers of unbelievers, but many Christians go too far in absolutising what is a valid principle. It would seem fairer to say that as a rule God does not answer the prayers of unbelievers, but in His sovereignty He can if He wills. There is no theological reason for him not to do so. The argument that He cannot answer them because of their sins is not accurate. The oft-quoted text in Isaiah 59:1 which tells us “Your sins have separated you from your God, your iniquities have hidden His face from you” are written specifically to God’s covenant people (Isaiah 58:1b) … 

“Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.” 

Isaiah 59:1 is not directed at the world. The text also tells us he “‘will’ not”, not that he ‘cannot’ and there is a difference. In the case of Israel, God decided He will not answer their prayers until they, as His covenant people and in keeping with His covenant, repent. An unbeliever is not in covenant with God. 

God Will Only Punish Unbelievers

The argument that God owes unbelievers nothing but judgement is true, but it does not preclude His temporal acts of grace such as healing in the here and now. Judgement will be meted out later when the Lord returns as judge. So, theologically, it would appear there is no reason to absolutise the principle that God will not answer the prayers of unbelievers except the sinners prayer.

All the above means, God can and so might heal unbelievers. Not because He must, not because it is ‘what He is doing now’, but because He may or may not choose to. If an unbeliever believes there may be a God who could heal them and on that basis prays for healing, while affirming God is not bound to heal, I see no reason to say He will not heal. Not unless there has been a prophetic word on the matter.

I think it is fair to say, that in most cases we would not expect Him to heal - at least not in an extraordinary way. But when healing occurs, it is a pleasant surprise in keeping with God’s character.

Now, if the above is true, it would mean we should not expect God to answer every prayer for healing with an extraordinary miracle of healing. Jesus Himself did not heal everyone, the Apostles certainly didn’t and in most cases we don’t see God’s covenant people healed in an extraordinary way - but that does not stop us praying for them.

We also give thanks to God when believers have been healed through natural means such as medication. Why should we not have the same attitude to unbelievers? In fact, I’ll bet every christian with an unbelieving loved one who is sick would pray for their healing. 

But You’re Inviting Them In

What about going out and inviting people to a service where we will pray for people to be healed (among other things). This involves telling people, ‘Jesus has the power to heal’ and ‘If we ask Him, He might heal you’ and ‘If you come to church we will be praying for people.’

Is this right to do? I see nothing wrong with it. Again, the story of the Syro-Pheneceon, according to Mark we read 

Mark 7:24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[g] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.

The woman came to Jesus as soon as she heard about Him. Somehow, somewhere along the line it seems someone has told her about this Jesus who heals and that He is in town. She heard!

We will be going around the houses, knocking on people’s doors, making sure people hear that they can come to Church, that Jesus is present, that Jesus has the power to heal. We will be careful to explain that it is unusual - but not that unusual. 

Of course we could tell them to just pray for themselves, and we don’t want to give the impression that Jesus hangs out down St Georges Hall and we cannot pray anywhere else. That would reinforce false doctrine in people’s minds. However - they got far worse doctrine about God than that. We want them to come to church because we want to pray for them but we want more than that for them. We want them to understand questions about suffering and we want them to know God and be informed. Those ends are better served in the context of Church than them on their own in their home or us on their door step.

Also, we will be praying for them, not them praying for themselves, and I’m sure none of us have a problem with believers praying. 

We will be doing this over two weeks and will be preaching the x4 W gospel.

Week 1 

Why does God allow sickness, suffering and bad things (Fallen, sinful, God-rejecting world) and What has He done about it? (sent Jesus to pay the price for all sin)

Week 2

Who will benefit from what God has done (All who rely on Jesus as Lord and Saviour) and When? (The promise is for complete healing in the new heavens and earth).

During the service we will pray for anyone who wants prayer, and we will provide follow up, hopefully beginning home visits doing home Bible studies etc.

The Real Danger

Of course there is one real danger and it is a concern. That is the danger of mis-communicating through publicity, or setting up false expectations that lead to disillusionment. For these reasons we will not shove tracts through people’s doors but will give personal invitations verbally and give the flyer for details. Second, we will be teaching about it as best we can. Third, perhaps someone will get healed, perhaps someone will begin the journey to faith. Rather than allow fear of danger stop us doing it, we believe the potential benefits are worth the risk, so we will do our best to minimise the dangers, pray like a storm, then take the step of faith.

Every time we have  taken risky steps of faith in the past, God has been thrilled us with what He has done and it has been a joy and blessing to the church and unbelievers too. That does not guarantee success on this occasion - but if we fail, we will have failed in faith!

God and Fairies - what's the difference?

Is it reasonable to be closed minded about God like we might be about, say, Fairies at the bottom of the garden?

Imagine your 4 year old daughter found a toy wand and a tiny, frilly dolls dress at the bottom of your garden. She is convinced by this that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden - but you can never be convinced because you are mature and wise and not childish. Some people treat the idea of God like that. But God and Fairies are not comparable and here's why.

Billions of lives have been changed by the Christian faith, marriages saved, criminals transformed, the course of history has been determined by it. It has produced some of the worlds greatest ever minds. It has produced some of the world’s greatest institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals, orphanages etc. Wars have been fought over it. People have been martyred for it. More academic volumes have been written about it than any other subject. We could go on. The same cannot be said of fairies or Father Christmas or any other fairy tale stuff. Anyway, parents knowingly pretend about fairies to their little children, no-one is pretending about God. 

God and fairies are not comparable. That is why it is reasonable to be closed minded about fairies - but not about God!

Honestly, are you open minded about God? 

Christian perspective on the struggle of Life on Estates

Life on council estates is a Kingdom of STRUGGLE, but there is an alternative for you!

If you live on a council estate, the fact is, you are among the 13.5 million poorest and exploited of our unjust society. Your job prospects are rubbish, minimum wage, short term contracts if any at all, no rights whatsoever, no holiday pay, long hours, benefits that are complicated and meagre, it's almost impossible to build a descent life for yourself and your children - It's relentless and wrong and I hate it!

People should know, a lack of motivation to work is not necessarily a sign of laziness. The fact is, no-one really wants to do the jobs that are on offer because they are exploitative. People  are treated like spongers, not because they don't wanna work, but because they understanably don't want to be exploited. It's not the work in itself, it's the abusive nature of the work. Pressure to work through breaks, eyes on you all the time, worked like a dog for a pittance, basically, people are treated like crap. Why should anyone have to put up with it!

All this is bad enough, and although few may be able to get out of the poverty trap and exploitation, for most on estates, perhaps for you, life is marked by a big STRUGGLE on every front.

Raising children with no money - struggle.

Work - struggle

Paying bills - struggle

Poor food and clothes budget - struggle

Doing the shopping - struggle

Juggling work and child care - struggle

Unemployed? - struggle

Getting rubbish to the tip - struggle without a car

Running a car - struggle!

All this struggle is a result of sin. It ravages lives. Much of it is the sin of the selfish rich in exploiting the poor. 

Another Way

But this world we live in is not all there is! There is another community you can be part of, another 'Kingdom' that Jesus is establishing. You can be part of that. And as I once read somewhere, His Kingdom is not just pie in the sky when you die, but meat on your plate while you wait! Jesus' Kingdom is not just a promise for the future, but He makes a substantial difference now too.

Jesus alternative Kingdom began 2000 years ago, you can become part of it now. It is a kingdom of righteousness and justice, goodness, fairness, hope and grace. Most of all, entering that Kingdom means all your own guilt gets dealt with.

Yes, you are a victim of the system and you have been sinned against. But the truth is, you are not just a victim, others have been your victim. You have also 'sinned', think of all the people you have hurt in life - that's sin and you, like me and everyone else, need a new, fresh start, free of guilt. You may not feel like that but one day you will know it's true - because we will all give an account to God.

On that day, it would be the worst of tragedies if you - having been exploited by the rich in this life, then find you are shut out from God's kingdom for eternity because you never dealt with your own sin in this life.

That is why I live here in Moulsecoomb. I want the exploited of this world to at least know the hope, joy and promise of God's coming Kingdom and to begin entering now. No matter what your situation, and despite your very real STRUGGLE, you can know genuine peace, hope, strength, stability, purpose and meaning, forgiveness and freedom from guilt. These are what the Christian faith offer. Don't dismiss it out of hand. If you wanna know more - ask me! jrebera.nlc@gmail.com or 07534987583

Christian perspective on the struggle of 'Life on Estates'

Life on council estates is a Kingdom of STRUGGLE, but there is an alternative for you!

If you live on a council estate, the fact is, you are among the 13.5 million poorest and exploited of our unjust society. Your job prospects are rubbish, minimum wage, short term contracts if any at all, no rights whatsoever, no holiday pay, long hours, benefits that are complicated and meagre, it's almost impossible to build a descent life for yourself and your children - It's relentless and wrong and I hate it!

People should know, a lack of motivation to work is not necessarily a sign of laziness. The fact is, no-one really wants to do the jobs that are on offer because they are exploitative. People  are treated like spongers, not because they don't wanna work, but because they understanably don't want to be exploited. It's not the work in itself, it's the abusive nature of the work. Pressure to work through breaks, eyes on you all the time, worked like a dog for a pittance, basically, people are treated like crap. Why should anyone have to put up with it!

All this is bad enough, and although few may be able to get out of the poverty trap and exploitation, for most on estates, perhaps for you, life is marked by a big STRUGGLE on every front.

Raising children with no money - struggle.

Work - struggle

Paying bills - struggle

Poor food and clothes budget - struggle

Doing the shopping - struggle

Juggling work and child care - struggle

Unemployed? - struggle

Getting rubbish to the tip - struggle without a car

Running a car - struggle!

All this struggle is a result of sin. It ravages lives. Much of it is the sin of the selfish rich in exploiting the poor. 

Another Way

But this world we live in is not all there is! There is another community you can be part of, another 'Kingdom' that Jesus is establishing. You can be part of that. And as I once read somewhere, His Kingdom is not just pie in the sky when you die, but meat on your plate while you wait! Jesus' Kingdom is not just a promise for the future, but He makes a substantial difference now too.

Jesus alternative Kingdom began 2000 years ago, you can become part of it now. It is a kingdom of righteousness and justice, goodness, fairness, hope and grace. Most of all, entering that Kingdom means all your own guilt gets dealt with.

Yes, you are a victim of the system and you have been sinned against. But the truth is, you are not just a victim, others have been your victim. You have also 'sinned', think of all the people you have hurt in life - that's sin and you, like me and everyone else, need a new, fresh start, free of guilt. You may not feel like that but one day you will know it's true - because we will all give an account to God.

On that day, it would be the worst of tragedies if you - having been exploited by the rich in this life, then find you are shut out from God's kingdom for eternity because you never dealt with your own sin in this life.

That is why I live here in Moulsecoomb. I want the exploited of this world to at least know the hope, joy and promise of God's coming Kingdom and to begin entering now. No matter what your situation, and despite your very real STRUGGLE, you can know genuine peace, hope, strength, stability, purpose and meaning, forgiveness and freedom from guilt. These are what the Christian faith offer. Don't dismiss it out of hand. If you wanna know more - ask me! jrebera.nlc@gmail.com or 07534987583

Boko Haram chants "Allahu Akbar" [God is great], a Christian response

Rather than follow on from my last post, I felt I should comment on Boko Haram. This is a long post, but it is a big subject.

I am quite public about my faith in God. So it surprises me that people don't ask and challenge me ... "Julian, where is your God?" I wish they would ask me. Atrocities such as Boko Haram's should cause people to ask questions of people like me. Perhaps people are too polite so I thought I'd answer the questions anyway.

Boko Haram (BH) is a fundamental islamist group operating lout of North East Nigeria. BH has recently emerged from obscurity to become an international household name. Not fame but infamy. Their crime, the kidnapping of girls from a school in Nigeria three weeks ago.

Less known is the fact that, just last Monday BH unleashed hell on a busy market in North East Nigeria, indiscriminately spraying bullets in all directions. Those not killed ran for cover by locking themselves in shops. BH's response? Burn the shops! The death toll is at 310 civillians shot or burned to death.

During the massacre the BH shouted and chanted the words "Allahu Akbar" which means  "God is great".

This massacre, like the recent abduction was in God's name. 

As Christians we maintain that God is essentially Love, and is all powerful, All wise, All seeing, Sovereign (meaning nothing at all, past, present and future is hidden from Him. Nothing can surprise Him or scupper His plans, nothing is outside of His control). 

So how can an all powerful God of love sit back idly in heaven, watching BH commit his atrocities in God's name? How can God see where these poor girls are being held, yet do nothing? What kind of a God is He? Surely the fact that this happened proves that either there is no God, or if there is he doesn't care, or if he does he isn't powerful and so can't help. My answer to that is, such a God would be useless and not worth spitting on.

BH is right about one thing, God is Great, but BH knows nothing of God.

God is great, He is Love, all power belongs to Him. God can totally obliterate Boko Haram and set free those girls. God could easily have intervened and prevented BH slaughtering 310 on Monday. 

So why hasn't God intervened? Why doesn't He intervene? These are the questions I want to answer.

1) GOD IS GREAT! My starting point is to underline what the Bible teaches. God is Great! All powerful, All seeing, All wise, unstoppable, indestructible, pure, righteous and good in every conceivable way.

2) SOMETHING IS WRONG: BH and their atrocities (and a million other examples can be given) show us our world is seriously, very, very seriously corrupt, screwed up and that SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG.

3) NO-ONE CAN FIX IT. Even if those girls are all rescued unharmed, and I pray they are, they have been seriously traumatised. They are already damaged. Insecurity has already devastated their lives. They may learn to live again but damage has been done and nothing can undo it. This world is full of the walking wounded. Full of devastated lives.

4) IT WILL NOT STOP. Even if BH is stamped out, and I pray it is, others will rise up in their place. Apart from that, a million other permeations of total evil are rife from the trafficking of little girls and boys as sex slaves to so-called legitimate wars and regime change with the terrible wickedness and suffering that all brings.

Why then does God allow it?

God allows it because we, you and I, all of us, that is this world, have, on the whole chosen to reject God. That is the truth.  We reject God as God but we would have Him as our Servant. Those are our terms. We all would like a God more like a Genie, who will grant unlimited wishes. We do not want a God who rules over us. We want to rule our own lives, our own families, our own destinies. True? Therefore we reject God.

God, in all His love wants to be in relationship with us, he wants to rule over our lives and this world because He loves us and because He can make all things good. But He will not force himself on the world or anyone in it. He accepts our choice to live without Him.

The story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible is helpful. (Click this link to read it) in this story the son takes his inheritance from his father, blows it, gets into severe trouble and hardship, then comes to his senses and returns to his father.

God wants us to come to our senses. He wants us to realise we cannot rule the world without Him without severe consequences for humanity. Of course, God could intervene whenever bad stuff is going to happen. We would love that. We would live our godless lives, getting all the benefits of God whilst rejecting Him. We would happily use God when we want him and discard Him like a worthless piece of rubbish when we're done with Him, until of course we want Him again. 

If God did stuff on our terms He would cease to be God. He would be pathetic. But God is Great! And He will not compromise His greatness.

So he does grant mankind's main wish, that we be in charge of this world. This is the world you and I have chosen. A godless world full of godless people living godless lives doing godless things, sometimes, like BH, in the name of God.

Most of us would have God intervene, deal with BH and then He can "piss off" again so that we can do whatever we want.

My question is this. How bad, evil, wicked and cruel do things have to get before the world turns to Jesus? How bad has it got to get before the world realises it is in desperate need of God? I think the answer is this: The world, as a whole will never turn back to God. As long as the majority have enough of what they want out of this life - the world will not turn to God - despite the fact our neighbours pay a terrible price of suffering - as long as it's not me. That is the problem, we are all very selfish. The Bible calls this SIN.


Apart from the wickedness of mankind, there are other powerful spiritual forces of evil at work too - demonic spirits.

I realise this sounds ridiculous. But there are such spirit creatures, limited in number, invisible, but their effects are clearly visible. Boko Haram, far from representing God is doubtless demonically driven. Ordinary people don't do the stuff they are doing. There is an evil force behind them and they don't even know it. It is the same evil force at work in men who abuse children, it is the same demonic evil influence that fills people to want to eat other people, torture them and be unspeakably wicked.

We have rejected God and so live in a world at the mercy of demonic spirits at work in both our world system and in individuals, and we are at the mercy of basically selfish people - that's all of us.

SO WHAT THEN? But this is God's world. He created it and He will not allow it to go on forever as it is. He has set a time when He will return and put an end to all evil and suffering and will establish His Kingdom over which He Himself will rule with love and Justic forever. He will rid the world or all evil once for all.

WHAT HAS GOD DONE? When we see the evil in the world we respond by posting protest posters on Face Book, perhaps you send the odd £20 to alleviate suffering, maybe you give £2 per month to sponsor a child in poverty. While we respond in our way, we wonder, "Why doesn't this so-called God do something?". But He has. When God saw the human misery that exists as a result of our SIN and evil, He sent His Son into the world, to demonstrate the goodness of God and His power and His Kingdom, and then to take upon Himself all our SIN, to pay the price for it so that we can know full healing, full forgiveness, and be united with God.

WHAT IS GOD DOING RIGHT NOW? Right now God is recruiting people into His Kingdom. Through the message of the gospel we get to come back to God, be totally forgiven so that in this world we can begin to live under His rule. Then when He returns, we will have a place in His new world.

All who continue to reject, will continue to get what they want - a world without God - but then (when He returns) it will not be this world. God will have taken back everything that is His, that is everything that is good. What will be left, Bible calls hell. Hell is the inheritance of all who reject God because Hell is all there is without Him.

If God intervenes now, the question is, are you in His Kingdom, or outside of it?

Wanna know more, message any questions.