Connecting - out there!

When Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became ‘the new pope’ he immediately hit the headlines…Google, newspapers, radio, TV, blogs, even inclusion in a new book on the ancient St Malachy papal prophecies.

 

Not only is this pontiff the first Latin American and Jesuit in modern times to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics but many highlights quickly circulated about him. For example, he…

+ Declines $10,000 a night hotel rooms/ popemobile usage, wanting freedom to get out and meet ‘the people’
+ Broke tradition, asking some 150,000 people to pray for him
+ Faces controversy; opposes same-sex marriage and abortion
+ Wanting to honour that great servant to the poor and destitute, he chose ‘Francis’ (but without number 2 tacked on!). 

   

Blending with ordinary people
Here’s a pope who Is humble, authentic, credible and appears, in some ways, to be just a normal guy. Watching the news regarding this new pope, immediately brought to mind two things. One was that delightful underrated, overlooked 1985 Tom Conti movie, Saving Grace. 

It’s a classic that asks the question, ‘Have you seen the pope lately?’ Why? Because he’s hit the streets and disappeared!

A fictional, reluctant ‘Pope Leo XIV’ grows tired of the politics and insularity of his new position. Taking a few quiet moments in the open air, he puts his head back to feel the raindrops on his face: But he’s promptly ushered inside to bankers, politicians, and back-to-back blessings of politicos. But one day, Leo slips out a back gate and blends in with soccer crowds.

He ends up in a troubled Italian village and, incognito, sets out to make a difference. Asked his name, Leo says ‘Francesco.’ And indeed there is something of St Francis in the way this gentle man sets aside the trappings of wealth and power to join the townspeople in their poverty and toil.

More importantly…Jesus who came from heaven
But the other thing that struck me at the same time was this: The reality of Jesus Christ! 

Although the Son of God he willingly allowed himself to be made lower than angels (Heb. 2:9), left the splendour of the heavenly throne room, not the Holy See, to become the humble servant of this world’s troubled, poor, destitute, fearful and sick. 

Why? He wanted to move ‘out there’ and meet ordinary people, bringing blessings and become our Saviour and greatest friend.  And the head of the newfound church.

Matthew 20:28 Mge spells out this aspect of Jesus’ humility and people’s servant heart: ‘That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served - and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.’

‘Serve’ is diakononeo, sometimes translated ‘minister’ but with the thought of waiting on menially. No wonder his ministry on earth is considered that of the servant king. He didn’t take on the name Joseph, his respected and supposed father, but that of ‘Jesus’ for he would ‘save his people from their sins’ (Matt. 1:21). Verse 23 recognises the Isaiah 7:14 prophecy about his supernatural birth: ‘Call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.’

Out there - among the people
Scripture depicts Jesus as the people’s friend. He was a marketplace minister who spent about a third of his ministry ‘out there’ not locked within the walls of some worship centre. 

In doing so he moved where the rubber hits the road. He felt people’s heartaches, hurts, burdensome governmental oppression, religious confusion, their wondering if God had forgotten them.  He touched their lives with good news, hope, healings, much comfort and wise, balanced advice and shared truths from God’s word.

Mark 6:56 Mge reads, ‘Wherever he went, village or town or countryside crossroads, they brought their sick to the marketplace and begged him to let them touch the edge of his coat – that’s all. And whoever touched him became well.’

‘Marketplace’ is the Greek word agorah, a town square. It comes from a base meaning to gather, to waken from disease, death, ruin. If you like…where people came together expecting something good - blessings just as in this Mark scripture.

Be an influencer
An important theme that blogs such as ours  stress again and again, is that all Christians carry the responsibility of reaching the unreached. That it’s not enough to attend church, tithe, worship God, individually experience the Holy Spirit and be personally blessed every week.

The church we attend when not ministering around, has a sign over an exit door which dramatically states, ‘You are now entering the mission field!’ How true. The mission field is wherever we go in the marketplace of life…school, college, uni, supermarket, café, restaurant, sports ground, hospital. Wherever we meet people.

Acts 17:12 describes some new Christians as ‘women and men of influence.’ This is what Jesus was – an influencer, one who liked to be among God’s creation encouraging them when opportunities arose…such as simply requesting a drink, a meal or miraculously instigating healings or sharing an uplifting word.

Personal example
Easter Saturday is regarded by Christians as a spiritually wasted day. Good Friday is over, Resurrection Sunday awaits and only a secular Saturday lies between. 

I (Robert) visited my local library to return DVDs and discovered only the emergency chute was open and it was over-full! As I endeavoured to push further in the several books, CDs and DVDs that other borrowers had jammed into the blocked opening, an out-of-town stranger arrived with the same errand. 

We chatted, became friends and I had the joy of influencing him, not in Sunday church, but ‘out there’ in the street and leading him to Christ. And praying over him for a healing. Then another lady needing help came along – another God-given opportunity. It was not a wasted Saturday after all! 

May we all be marketplace Christians, not missing opportunities to share the good news.

Eye-Openers

We like to be up-to-date, keeping an ear open to the Holy Spirit for his leadings and an eye on what is going on in church life and with different Christians. This comes from having a heart to obey God, being aware of the times (church and world) and encouraging Christians to enjoy the gift of life and serve their God.

Three March eye-opening matters caught our eye …

1. Reaching the ‘nones’
LifeWay Research’s Ed Stetzer (www.edstetzer.com/) penned an insightful article - 5 Things the Church Will Face in the Next 10 Years.

Dr Stetzer highlights matters essential to expanding the church in this age of self-centredness. But his number four focus - Evangelism in the Age of the Nones (No religion/church affiliation) – really got our attention.

It reads: ‘We are now increasingly facing what I have called a post-seeker context. This does not mean that seekers no longer exist. The Spirit is always at work in the hearts of people. But churches that once focused their energies and efforts toward targeting seekers are finding it more difficult to appeal to a constituency with little to no religious memory.’

He goes on: ‘Churches will have to find new ways to lead their people to reach out to their neighbours - not just attractional evangelism, but incarnational evangelism, as well - being, doing and telling good news where we live and work.’

2. Face-to-face evangelism
The immediate success of My Hope America with Billy Graham, a crusade with a difference. At least 10.2 million people saved to date!

This isn’t one ‘final-tour’ America-wide crusade by the 94-year-old evangelist. Its success is due to fresh thinking (actually first church thinking!) and a passion for souls. It’s been noted that ‘one-on-one conversations are the root of this relationship evangelism outreach.’

Franklin Graham commented, ‘My father is as burdened today about the souls of men and women as he has been at any time in his life.’ Dr Graham said: ‘I think it is going to be a tremendous time of evangelism. That the Lord is going to use it mightily. I’ve been praying that we might have a spiritual awakening.’

Coincidently we attended a particular church’s beautiful new building launch this month. 

It was encouraging to hear the observations of the visionary visiting minister, still highly respected in his senior years. ‘This church has every reason to rejoice and celebrate the Lord’s honouring of your faithfulness and commitment in enabling the reality of this great building,’ he pointed out.

But, he added, the building in itself isn’t the church, that the real church is ‘out there’ and that church people must share with and lead the unsaved to Christ, and then get them into the building.

This is the challenge to every Christian. Yes, it’s great to have a building, but such will become empty if there isn’t more one-on-one, face-to-face sharing of the gospel of Christ ‘out there.’

3. Evin prison

Two stories from ASSIST News (www.assistnews.net) gripped us powerfully...

‘Our nightmare isn’t over!’ recounts how American citizen Saeed Abedini willingly returned to his native Iran nine months ago to continue work on building an orphanage. Revolutionary guards took the pastor to the notorious Evin prison. This is where inmates are routinely tortured, and hanging executions are swift and sudden.

Naghmeh, his distressed wife, writes: ‘Saeed was [later] given his eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. I know deep in my heart that unless we speak out and fight for him, Saeed might not survive the eight years in that horrific prison, especially because he continues to face continued abuse and death threats.’ (See #SaveSaeed- http://savesaeed.org/ )

We have the privilege of ministering to middle-easterners now committed Christians. They tell how God’s grace enabled them to leave their homelands, settle here and enjoy our religious freedom. Some tell of the perils Christian relatives back home face, that they are willing to go back to share Jesus and encouragements.

In view of what they’ve told us and what we pick up from ASSIST reports, we find it amazing that Pastor Saeed was so brave, so bold, to trust his Lord and return to help little children!

Sentenced to death, miraculously freed is the incredible report of Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, two young ladies who also willingly returned to their homeland. Their God-given mission was to covertly distribute Farsi New Testaments and start two secret house churches.

They too were caught, imprisoned at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison and sentenced to death for spreading Christianity. Amazingly, instead of succumbing to fear and the interrogation threats, these young Christians, committed to Christ, chose to take the dangerous step of sharing their faith inside that very gaol. Evin prison became their church!

Through God’s grace and intercessory prayers of Christians worldwide, charges were dropped; they were released in 2009 and migrated to Atlanta.

What gripped us here too is this: These two young people were so committed to Jesus’ great commission to share his good news with their own people, at the risk of their own lives, they dared to move into danger – to where promoting Christianity is a capital crime and official charges ‘of apostasy, anti-government activity, and blasphemy’ means sentence of execution by hanging.

Australia - the lucky country
Rereading these two stories, the willingness and commitment of young Christians to endanger themselves in sharing the gospel,we couldn’t help but recall an old truth: So many Christians in this land of (currently!) religious freedom just haven’t got a clue what it is to be persecuted for Jesus!

So many moan and groan when pastors call for commitment to growth projects, to connecting with the unsaved and unchurched. Worse, we rarely consider praying for ‘our Christian family’ in restricted nations such as the Middle East and Asia. Yet for decades these brethren have prayed for us!

Regarding the outstanding Billy Graham outreach, how many realise that face-to-face, one-on-one witnessing is the secret to connecting with non-Christians, preparing the way so the Spirit can lead them to Christ.

As for the ‘Nones’… we need to be Jesus in our locales, marketplaces, schools and such. Active Christians not afraid to move in the Spirit’s supernatural …and as Dr Stetzer put it - 'being, doing and telling good news where we live and work.’

Ancient Ways for End Time Days

Sukkot , Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles, is a biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishri  - late September to late October – after the grape harvest (Lev. 23:34). One of three mandated festivals, it required Jews to make a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem.  

Booths were walled structures covered with a plant material such as leafy tree overgrowth or palm leaves. The intention was that these would be a reminder of the fragile dwellings the Israelites dwelt in during their 40 years in the desert after the  Exodus. Throughout the holiday, meals were eaten inside and many slept there.


This Feast of Tabernacles was the most joyous of Israel’s feasts, a yearly gathering to worship the king of kings. Indeed, it was the feast of the harvest in the seventh month and Israel was commanded to bring their offerings and rejoice in booths for seven days. One day during this time was very special, a most solemn day, the Day of Atonement and Israel greatly rejoiced that their sins had been covered.


This year saw over 6,000 Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot.  Different messianic Jews groups either going there, or gathering around the world, for conferences had various themes such as A Light Unto the Nations and A Praise to the Earth.


Two that caught our eye were It’s Harvest Time! and Ancient Ways for End Time Days.


The link
Yes, it’s quite a journey of enlightenment to visit Jerusalem and Israel at anytime  but as Christians we can rejoice any time, anywhere over our forgiveness of sin, our rescue from Satan and our exodus from our captivity in his kingdom. We simply lift our heart and mind and hands wherever we are and give the Lord thanks for all that he has done for us.


It is good to remember that all the feasts were types of the coming and the work of the Messiah. Regarding atonement, we wholeheartedly rejoice that Jesus entered the heavens as our high priest to make atonement for our sins. We now rejoice in his great messianic work – salvation for all, just not Jews.


One of the most interesting scriptures mentioning the Feast of Tabernacles is in John 7. It is the time of Jesus’ third and final trip to the Jewish capital, some six months before his crucifixion.


The last day of the feast was regarded as the greatest (John 7:37), when sacrifices were offered, booths were joyously dismantled and the people repeatedly sang the hallel (Pss. 113-118). There was also the special water pouring ceremony on this climactic day.


As the people pack up and the reminders of ancient ways and the joy of the feast including the yearly once-only water pouring begin to fade into memory, an amazing thing happened. Jesus stood up and invited those who believed in him to receive an endless supply of life-giving water, which includes the Holy Spirit. As the Message Bible puts John 7:37: ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way.’


Zechariah 14:16-17 warns that if the feast of Tabernacles was not attended, then there would be no rain so adequate rainfall was expected by the faithful. Water had been associated with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (see Isa.44:3; Eze. 36:25-27: Joel 2:28). Jesus’ proclamation promised the Holy Spirit in a personal overwhelming way with himself as the agent after Calvary.


What a surprise this would have been to those about to return home. No wonder many responded by calling him a prophet and the Messiah (V41). Many returned at dawn to be taught further (8:1-2). And as he did so he again linked the Feast of Tabernacles with his God-given mission... of being the light of the world (John 8:12). On the last day of that popular feast not only was there the water-pouring rite but also the lights ceremony. Torches had been lit before the happy gathering.


Jesus was linking himself with the deeper meaning of this festival for he was the true light of the world and soon would be its Saviour. Then, after he was glorified, the Holy Spirit would be available to all who believed in him.


Time for old truths to be fired afresh!
No, we’re not, as some would have it, expecting Bible balanced Christians to start celebrating Jewish Torah laws! That would be foolishness and entering into the dangers that the writer of Hebrews warns about, when many early church Christians were in peril of slipping back into sanctimonious, pharisaical bondage. That author strongly cautioned: ‘It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off.’


But we would urge, in this day of opportunity - a time of world troubles and a day when many feel we are in the last days, the end times - to witness Jesus to those who need Christ. To remind a godless society that the ancient ways, taught in the Bible and honoured by our ancestors, are good ways, wholesome and reliable.


And to remind Christians who have returned to the ease of home as it were, that Jesus has already accomplished everything on our behalf, that we don’t have to keep laws and ordinances that were established for Israel, a nation that had just been released from slavery, nor do we have to live up to anything that Jesus never intended for Christians. We are free in Christ!


If anything, the Feast of Tabernacles is a good reminder of the grape harvest. Grapes speak of wine yet another symbol of the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, harvest speaks of the need to reap lost souls for Jesus. This harvest is ever before us and we must take the opportunities God drops before us.


The pilgrimage for today
Let’s make a pilgrimage to our churches or prayer closets; praise God for all that Jesus has done for us in becoming our Saviour in forgiving our sins and availing us of the power of the Holy Spirit. Then ask him to help us witness him to the unsaved.

 

Needed today: On-fire, missio Dei churches!

Some teach that the church was born when Jesus mysteriously entered a room where his disciples were hiding and breathed on them (See John 20:19-22).

Easier-to-grasp is that the church was born on Pentecost Sunday, that amazing morning when the Holy Spirit fell at 9am with supernatural power, filling and anointing 120 patiently waiting faithful disciples.

Immediately they willingly moved out from that room of blessing into the marketplace to witness for Jesus. There, renewed and rejuvenated, a transformed Peter gave his first big sermon and a public altar call.

The incredible result was around three thousand convinced people accepted Christ as Saviour, received forgiveness of sin and gained godly confidence to live each day joyfully in their troubled world.

Now that makes more sense! Twelve people meeting in a room, no matter how blessed they may get by a heavenly visit, do not constitute a church! They’re really just a home group. A church is a vibrant Spirit-filled body of people active in reaching out to a needy society.

In Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8 Jesus had promised his disciples something exciting was about to happen, that they’d receive miraculous ability to become confident witnesses for him all over the earth.

A gobsmacking morning

And on that year’s religious feast day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in such an unexpected but powerful manner at nine in the morning!

As the British would exclaim, they were gobsmacked! Bewildered, amazed and probably baffled! But they knew that something unusual and incredible had happened in a few seconds. The Holy Spirit - the Father’s promise, indeed as promised by both God and Jesus - came with fire and power and enabling!

Acts 2 paints the dramatic picture. A violent wind sound, the Spirit blowing on those faithful first disciples; fire falling from heaven touching their lips. They began to praise God in new languages granted by the Spirit.

Their immediate desire was to meet regularly without fail, to fellowship, pray together and be taught from scripture, share meals and communion, meet needs, worship Jesus and grow in him (Acts 2: 42-47).

But more importantly, they rushed out into the streets to witness for Jesus Christ and be involved in seeing the new church of Christ expand locally and worldwide.

It was the beginning…persecution began immediately, yet grow they did! They grew personally as friends and followers and studiers of the Word and pastoral teaching meeting in genuine fellowship. And they grew numerically as they witnessed for Jesus and what he meant to them personally and as they prayed for and believed for more new souls into the kingdom.

A committed and supernatural church was expanding the kingdom nationwide and on a world scale.

What has happened?

This was a dynamic, exciting, powerful church of followers living by the Bible and the apostles’ doctrine. A church with Holy Spirit anointing and empowerment, healings, miracles and answers to prayers. A church that Jesus vowed Satan and every ‘gate of hell’ would not overcome (Mat. 16:18). It was an on-fire group of people committed to seeing lives transformed by the power of forgiveness, the indwelling Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

Over the centuries Satan, governments, cults, false religions, evil people, even some wrongly thinking Christians have opposed and tried to hinder its growth – but as Jesus promised haven’t succeeded.

Yet today many churches are not the powerhouses they’re supposed to be, many Christians are not on fire with the Spirit as they’re supposed to be. And many don’t know how to dream in God, trust him and, relying on the Spirit, serve Jesus in a fuller, deeper way.

What’s holding us back from being a powerhouse church? From being on fire for Jesus, witnessing, growing, trusting God, really giving ‘the 3 ts’ (time, treasure and talent) to his kingdom and ‘turning the world upside down ‘as did the early church?

Maybe we really need to rethink what church should be... the outworking of the doctrine of God - missio Dei - the sending of God! That is...a missions-mind God who so loves the world that he sends on-fire churches to evangelise it both locally and overseas.

So often we think in the easy terms of ‘Oh, yes, our church has a mission.’ But more correct, determined thinking would be ‘The mission has our church!’

Pentecost Sunday should be a time of renewal

In one sense it doesn’t matter when the church was born. The fact is that it was and we must do whatever it takes to strengthen Christ’s church today, ensuring it is the powerhouse it’s supposed to be.

In these continuing uncertain days, still rampant with dangers, including false doomsday prophecies as proclaimed this month by California’s Harold Camping (89), it is time to act. To be as the early Christians - determined to move ahead in the power, anointing and enabling of the Spirit!

This year June 12 is slated as the church’s Pentecost Sunday. Churches everywhere never forget to celebrate Christmas and Easter each year but few highlight this important celebration.

If we choose to remember what Pentecost Sunday is really all about and look forward in anticipation to something exciting happening to us - and our church as a whole - then in a few week’s time we could easily be greatly refreshed, renewed and re-powered by the Spirit.

The world offers many deceiving distractions, as well as pulling down negatives. Let’s recall afresh the Paul’s encouraging ‘Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit’ (Eph. 5:18).   The word ’filled’ is pleroo, meaning ‘filled full.’

Now that’s the pentecostal kind of wine that doesn’t ruin us but empowers us to witness for Christ, see our churches become havens of healing and comfort for all, and the kingdom expand.

What time does your church gather Sunday mornings? Nine o’clock, ten, eleven? It doesn’t matter; come along every Sunday morning, just not Pentecost Sunday, expecting Holy Spirit visitations.

More importantly, may every church have a desire to become an on-fire, mission- Dei one for Jesus!