Pilgrim Heart

Revealed Glory

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:18-23)

I've been home from India for about a week now. It was a good trip and definitely a two-way street of encouragement, revelation and fellowship. My father and I spoke 10 times each, for me mostly at a worship conference and for him mostly at a leaders' conference.

My faith was stirred and my expectations of God multiplied as I spoke with many of God's people there and heard their stories of the power of God and the miracles God has worked through them in recent months.

I heard two different accounts of small children being raised from the dead after doctors had pronounced them dead! That is outstanding.

I also heard something I had never heard before: I spoke with a young man who explained to me that seven years ago his father became the first believer in his region when a visiting evangelist prayed for him and he was healed of cancer and TB. At that time the man and his 3 sons (including the young man telling me the story) owned a piece of land that "only produced thistles and thorns" and they worked as migrant labourers and were starving.

But something happened as the father and then his sons became Christians. Crops began to grow on their unproductive land. Today their farm is known for its exceptional fruitfulness: producing more than enough to support four families. I asked that man whether God had given him special insight into what he needed to do to make the land productive: which crops to plant or some treatment of the soil. He said, "No, but as we heard about tithing and giving and began to do practice it, things started to grow on the land." Today all the farms that touch this one are becoming more fruitful and productive!

Creation, that has been subjected to futility because of the sin of Man, has always been in hope - in hope of a day when the glorious children of God will bring freedom to the world. And here we can see how the substance of creation responds to being under the care of citizens of God's kingdom. Praise God!

The Kingdom of God and the Family Unit

Recently in my studies I have been considering the role of the family unit in the Kingdom of God. Our paradigm for the family unit is Adam and Eve, still valid today according to Jesus Mt 19:3-6. And in extending the Kingdom of God again our paradigm is Adam and Eve's commission Gen 1:28.

So the bible clearly ties these 2 together, the family unit and the extending of the Kingdom. The family unit is the building block of the Kingdom of God; which is why God is so interested in household salvation (see these examples).

Out of interest I thought I would see what people were saying on the internet about the Kingdom of God and the Family Unit. Many, many Christians have much to say on both of the subjects, much of it excellent.

However, the only groups I could find who linked together these two great conceptions of God were either cults (Moonies and Mormons) or heretics. That was sad. Anyone know of any good stuff on this on the internet or in books?

I will certainly be posting on this topic in the near(ish) future!

Trinitarian Patterns in Scripture 6

"Peter, and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you." (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Here's another quite obvious trinitarian reference, but I was struck by the activity of the united Godhead in this opening blessing from Peter: it is to do with the readers' (and of course) our election.

Peter says we are elect exiles - that it our calling as God's elect, to live as exiles in this world because we belong to another. We have come to be the elect people of God because the Father foreknew us - and that means so much more that just he knew ahead of time: it means that in his great purpose for all creation he has deliberately planned for and chosen us!

We are also elect in the sanctification of the Spirit - we are brought into a process by and of the Spirit by which he is transforming us to be just like Jesus. There is something bigger here to. The Spirit has always been about sanctifying God's creation - even when all creation was "good" it was still immature and therefore in need of transformation. After the fall there was need also for the purging of sin and its effects from creation. Mankind posed such opposition to this work of the Spirit that God said, "My Spirit shall not contend with man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." And a little later, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth." (Gen 7:3,7). God's solution was to create a new heavens and a new earth (see 2 Peter 3) through the flood and to repopulate the world through Noah and his family.

The Spirit of God continues to work throughout history not just in sanctifying individuals but in transforming creation so the the glory of the Lord may be seen. It is into this ongoing work of the Spirit that we have been elected: the transformation and glorification of the world through the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Finally we find the why of our election it is "for obedience to Jesus Christ". It is to bring us under his rule and to form a people who will express the Kingdom of God in every aspect of life.

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you." Amen!

Church and World

I am sure many of you have thought about how the church relates to the world. Ideas tend to fall into 3 camps.

(1) ESCAPE - In order to keep itself pure, the church should have as little to do with the world as possible, we should make every effort to isolate ourselves from the world whilst seeking the salvation of individuals

(2) TRANSFORM - The church should seek to be an agent of change in the world as real change is possible and is part of the church's mission.

(3) ADAPT - The church should seek to adapt to the ways of the world to remain relevant in changing societies. So what do you think? You can vote below

Are You a Radical Protestant?

I have nearly finished reading Howard Snyder's "The Radical Wesley" - a very interesting read blending biography with an easy to understand analysis of church renewal.

In the book Snyder suggests 7 characteristics for a model of Radical Protestantism. I thought you might be interested to see where your church experience and personal convictions compare with this model!

The Radical Protestant Model of Church

1. Voluntary adult membership based on a covenant-commitment to Jesus Christ, emphasising obedience to Jesus as necessary evidence of faith in him. Believer's baptism has usually been the sign of this commitment, but nor always. The point is not, fundamentally, the form of joining the covenant community but the fact and meaning of the conscious committed membership in it.
2. A community or brotherhood of discipline, edification, correction and mutual aid, in conscious separation from the world, as the primary visible expression of the church.
3. A life of good works, service and witness as an expression of Christian love and obedience expected of all believers. Thus there is an emphasis on the ministry of the laity, rather than of a special ministerial class and the church is viewed as "a missionary minority."
4. The Spirit and the Word as comprising the sole basis for authority, implying a de-emphasis on or rejection of church traditions and creeds.
5. Primitivism and restitutionism. The early church is the model, and the goal is to restore the essential elements of early church life and practice. This usually implies some view of the fall of the church as well.
6. A pragmatic, functional approach the church order and structure.
7. A belief in the universal church as the body of Christ, of which the particular visible believing community is but a part.

So, which boxes do you tick?

Quotation from "The Radical Wesley" p 114, Snyder. P.S. the pic is Snyder not just some random bloke in a beard! Click on the link to WineSkins to visit Snyder's website.

Restoration to What?

In the previous post I quoted Sparks:

"The history of God's specific movements with the Church is not the history of His adding something, but of His bringing back to the primal fullness with which He filled His Son."

Here's the thing, God's plan for restoration in the Church is not to return it to some original condition of the Church, but to the original intention for the Church in the exalted Christ. The restoration of the Church is not about going back to Acts 2 (this was the Church in seed-form), but onwards to the perfection of the holy city of Jerusalem which is (even now) "coming down out of heaven from God," (Rev 21:10).

But also, if we only see back as far as Acts 2 we can miss many significant expressions of "the primal fullness with which he filled his Son". The OT is also all about Jesus. Perhaps it is in the area of worship that we most notably miss out if our Bibles only begin at Acts 1!

The apogee of an earthly expression of heavenly worship (in its form and execution) is found in the ministry of the Tabernacle of David. This answers the question, "why does the NT say so little about the form and expression of corporate worship?" the reason being that in God's plan of restoration, the church already had an excellent model in the worship of the kingdom era of the OT.

I will attempt to blog some thoughts on the Tabernacle of David as the starting point for the worship of the Church in the coming days...

But to make the point again from T.A.S., restoration is about bringing to the Church what is in the exalted Christ, not necessarily what has previously been seen in the historic Church.

Stirred by T. Austin-Sparks

The internet may have very many negatives, but one great positive is the fact that by a couple of clicks you can find yourself stirred and built up by the writings of men and women of faith. A couple of clicks this morning led me to the passage below, and lifted my eyes back on to the eternal purposes of God, and my part in them...

God has never yet moved from any other standpoint and position than fullness and finality. Man's first day on the earth was the Sabbath, which was at the end of God's work. Man did not start with God in the fragments and bits of His work. When the new corporate Man came in on the Day of Pentecost it was upon a basis of fullness and finality in Christ exalted. The history of God's specific movements with the Church is not the history of His adding something, but of His bringing back to the primal fullness with which He filled His Son. Look at the epochs in the Church's history and you will see that they represented the recovery of something which had been lost. God can therefore never be satisfied with something which only represents an elementary, or more or less, degree of the fullness of Christ. Any movement of God which is taken hold of by man and made something in itself as an end, whether it be evangelism or a fuller message of life, and truth, or whether it be an advance in order or method of Church life and procedure, must sooner or later become a tradition and a legal system, bereft of life and heavenly fullness.

From "What Will God do Next?" T. Austin-Sparks, 1942. Read the full article here.

By the way, there is a bible verse about the internet

Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away. (1 Cor 7:31)

Gifts for the People

That is why the Scriptures say, "When he (Jesus) ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people." Notice that is says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe. He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. (Eph 4:8-11)

I think it is good to be reminded from time to time that the ministries that lead us are actually God's gifts to us.

How many parents have been exasperated when their children have complained about a good gift - saying it was not what they wanted, or "rubbish" or worse! 

I've been doing some Christmas shopping recently (very early for me!) and chosing presents for my children. I buy each present with the intention that it will bless the child, excite them, thrill them, be of worth and value to them, and to do them good (some presents won't do your children good by the way, don't give these!).

To be honest, my own children will give a variety of responses, based on their expectations, personalilty and mood. Nothing blesses me more than the response "Ahhhh, thanks Dad, that's just what I wanted" or "Wow, this is great" (both genuine responses from last Christmas!).

So, back to our leaders: how do we receive them? How to we respond to God about them? Does he give the best gifts or what?

Ex Cathedra

This is an extract from the Coventry Observer from 30th March 2006, you can read it in its context on the Entertainment Page by clicking here.

Celebrating life without celebrating the Life-Giver or celebrating the unregenerate human spirit is folly. It saddens me that this is what the world sees and hears when it looks to what it believes to be the Church.

Underlying this concept is a creeping paganism which seems to be growing, perhaps as it promises to provide a link to the better, simpler days of the past.

There also seems to be a move towards celebrating May 1st as a day of spiritual significance, see this from National Geographic for example. Sorry Commies it's not your day any more!

So what to do? Righteous anger leads to righteous action, as Jesus showed when he cleansed the temple. I believe we should go on the offensive with our most powerful weapon - the Word of God. This story has provoked me to think how I could be making the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom more powerfully and clearly heard in my city: it's time to speak up!

The Aesthetics of Restoration

God’s plan of Restoration is not a return to the original condition but going on to the ultimate intention. From the beginning God has intended for mankind to increase in number, exercise rule and transform creation. This is first expressed in the context of the garden of Eden, a garden that Adam and Eve were to cultivate and increase; to transform the whole world into a garden as a place of fellowship and encounter with God.

The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [Genesis 2:8-9]

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. [Genesis 2:15]

What I like here is that God planted in the garden not just trees that provide food, but also those that were “pleasing to the sight”. God’s plan has never been just a utilitarian one, not a “make do” or “bare necessities” plan; but a plan of “more than enough” or “whistles and bells” if you like!

God’s plan of Restoration, indeed God’s Kingdom, is one of abundance and exuberance – one where we are to enjoy the ride not just the destination. Some of what God does is just to look good – just to please the eye; and of course consequently to reflect a glorious God!