A Full Week
Reflecting on a week in the life of LCC. I am struck by the fact so much goes on; in fact more goes on than is known by any of us.
Reverb unplugged was from all accounts a great night with nearly 50 youth and some new emerging talent.
Showcase Sunday was outstanding. The high quality of the presentation on ‘what is a Christian?’ built around a school audience was notable.
The clubs, the cells, new faces every week, Sunday meetings open to God. People becoming Christians. About 8 at the ‘klub’ weekend away last week alone. More reports of people being healed and set free. Especially notable is the ministry of Greg and Angela Kemm in this regard. They come to us each year for a week or two and equip and help catch us all up in being able to pray for people with illness or bondages and see results. We need to see much more but we are seeing more than we did – we must press in. God has promised.
In the business of life it is often possible not to notice when God is at work. He is at work here. We are seeing increased momentum. His grace is upon us. There are a growing numbers of people willing to serve. Acts of kindness slip by almost daily without any great fanfare.
We live in troubled times. Our nation is desperate. Our Town is in great need. The nations of Europe are like a dessert spiritually.
Within the Christian world waves of thought come and go. The atonement is dismissed as an awful theory akin to ‘cosmic child abuse’. Extra Biblical teaching on all sorts of spiritual mysticism is absorbed without anyone commenting or questioning, or being criticised if they do. How we need Churches of Word and Spirit. How we need to ask God to be merciful to us and use us even though we are weak and frail and not in any position of ourselves to commend ourselves.
I love seeing what God is doing amongst us. I love it that he for some reason wants to bless us – why? I am privileged to be surrounded with many godly people. I am genuinely humbled when I see some folk whom I know who have lived with considerable suffering and trials and yet they a radiant with God and his Spirit. That we might be a community drenched in God is the longing of my heart. That God would catch us up more in prayer has got to be a goal. We need God to act according to his promise. Praise him for all he is doing, but call on him for all he has said.
I spoke to someone this morning; they had experienced just this week considerable healing both physically and spiritually. Bring it on!
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
What do I make of the Lakeland Florida meetings?
What Do I make of the Lakeland outpouring?
The events unfolding in Lakeland Florida are gaining visibility in the Christian world and increasingly in the secular press. So it seems appropriate to pass on a few thoughts of my own on it as most people will have an opinion.
I was preaching on Romans 11 today where Paul grapples with some of the great themes of election and human responsibility. At the end his cry is ‘O the depth of the wisdom and riches of God’, He also says ‘how unsearchable his paths’. Paul found that theology (study of God) leads to Doxology (Worship of God).
I believe in Word and Spirit. I believe we need theology if we are to handle the moving of the Spirit in a sustainable way that will build the church and keep the fruit of movement of God.
Doxology without theology leads to a wandering from the path of orthodoxy. People may get excited but when asked why they are excited they have no idea!
I have watched some of the meetings from Lakeland and observe a few things from what I have seen and read and heard.
1- I do believe what we are seeing is the power of God in the meetings
2- The people that are getting healed seem to me to be very ordinary people who have been invaded by the wonderful healing power of Jesus Christ. They are almost shocked and surprised they at not ‘crazy people’
3- The platform party do seem to have a genuine love for Jesus and for people
4- The theology of those on the platform seems to me to be very questionable.
5- There does not seem to be any Bible present anywhere on the platform or any reference to Scripture
6- There is a lot of reference of Angles, Open heaven, prophecy and other terms that are quoted without any reference to exposition of the word
7- I believe this might prove to be something that transmits across many nations as we saw with the Toronto outpouring
8- Just because the power of God is being poured out does not mean the theology or message being preached is right. God blesses with power as a gift. We are responsible for what we say publically.
9- My concern is that people will see the power and assume it has come because of the message. This in my view would be a big error
10- We must be open in our churches to the anointing that is breaking out especially in healing
11- We must be even more diligent in our churches to teach accurately the word of God so the outpouring of the Spirit is rightly handled
12- If folk can go or catch from this power of course do so. But do not throw your Brain away or your Bible.
13- If something is not built on the word of God it will end in disaster even if it is God pouring out his Spirit.
14- Paul spent much of his time in his letter correcting error as he saw that if left unattended it would ultimately do a lot of damage
15- We must pray for the outpouring to be brought onto good solid lines of scripture and teach people to be discerning over what they see and hear.
The events unfolding in Lakeland Florida are gaining visibility in the Christian world and increasingly in the secular press. So it seems appropriate to pass on a few thoughts of my own on it as most people will have an opinion.
I was preaching on Romans 11 today where Paul grapples with some of the great themes of election and human responsibility. At the end his cry is ‘O the depth of the wisdom and riches of God’, He also says ‘how unsearchable his paths’. Paul found that theology (study of God) leads to Doxology (Worship of God).
I believe in Word and Spirit. I believe we need theology if we are to handle the moving of the Spirit in a sustainable way that will build the church and keep the fruit of movement of God.
Doxology without theology leads to a wandering from the path of orthodoxy. People may get excited but when asked why they are excited they have no idea!
I have watched some of the meetings from Lakeland and observe a few things from what I have seen and read and heard.
1- I do believe what we are seeing is the power of God in the meetings
2- The people that are getting healed seem to me to be very ordinary people who have been invaded by the wonderful healing power of Jesus Christ. They are almost shocked and surprised they at not ‘crazy people’
3- The platform party do seem to have a genuine love for Jesus and for people
4- The theology of those on the platform seems to me to be very questionable.
5- There does not seem to be any Bible present anywhere on the platform or any reference to Scripture
6- There is a lot of reference of Angles, Open heaven, prophecy and other terms that are quoted without any reference to exposition of the word
7- I believe this might prove to be something that transmits across many nations as we saw with the Toronto outpouring
8- Just because the power of God is being poured out does not mean the theology or message being preached is right. God blesses with power as a gift. We are responsible for what we say publically.
9- My concern is that people will see the power and assume it has come because of the message. This in my view would be a big error
10- We must be open in our churches to the anointing that is breaking out especially in healing
11- We must be even more diligent in our churches to teach accurately the word of God so the outpouring of the Spirit is rightly handled
12- If folk can go or catch from this power of course do so. But do not throw your Brain away or your Bible.
13- If something is not built on the word of God it will end in disaster even if it is God pouring out his Spirit.
14- Paul spent much of his time in his letter correcting error as he saw that if left unattended it would ultimately do a lot of damage
15- We must pray for the outpouring to be brought onto good solid lines of scripture and teach people to be discerning over what they see and hear.
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