Watch what God does and then you do it

But how many of us actually know what God does? And, how do we  learn to watch?  JB Phillips puts it like this; “As children copy their fathers you, as God’s children, are to copy him.” Paul uses the analogy of parent and child to encourage us to live as God lives.

This is quite unlike the relationship between the people and the Pharisees. Jesus warns the crowd – “so you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

The relationship between Father and family is established through ‘new birth’ – fellowship is a participation in that relationship that encourages experiential intimacy. When religion has a foot-hold in our lives there is ‘hard-heartedness’ and Jesus wants to free and gently lead us into His fear-free wonderful purpose.   Jesus goes on to expose the motive of the Pharisee heart – “Everything they do is for men to see.”

This is for YOU!

The heart captured by grace finds an amazing energy to love God because it ultimately realizes it is all about knowing Him. A heart set on God is freed from performance oriented living and finds a deep rest and peace in knowing that He is with us. Let me encourage you to find that space!

Contrary to current opinion amongst many church goers our relationship with God is not about us getting our own way or even seeing how much we can achieve for Him. No, it is all about going His way and enjoying what He has already done for us.

What does God do?

“Mostly what God does is love you.” Some would find this hard to understand but being loved by God restores my life to such an extent that I begin to see more clearly than ever His plan for my life. It is the call of God to embrace what He does for us rather than what we want to do for Him that restores the soul.

I find that some Christians may be quite bewildered by the thought of ‘copying God’ and want only to know ‘how this works’ Well,   here are some pointers from Paul as to how we can experience His love. Quite simply…

“Keep company with Him and learn a life of love”

“Observe how Christ loved us.”

“His love was not cautious but extravagant.”

“He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us.”

The challenge for us is to  -“Love like that!”

But if it is from God

It is encouraging to see believers who have deep desire to walk away from routine and religious lifestyles towards the horizons of God’s freedom. These friends of God are no better than anyone else but they have simply responded to the call of God in their hearts to follow the Lamb. I love this statement spoken by Gamaliel;

“For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” [Acts 5:38, 39 NIV]

The ‘Acts’ of the early Church

I’ve been reading Acts again lately with a view to picking up the heart and lifestyle of the early Church to find out what motivated these early Jesus-lovers. How come they made such a huge difference to so many people? They shared a devotion to fellowship, testified with great power, much grace was upon them all, there were no needy people among them! These early disciples were passionately obedient, supernaturally aware worshippers of God.

They had spent time with Jesus prior to his resurrection and now with much expectation had waited for the Holy Spirit to be poured out as Jesus had promised. They were immersed in the life of God – and that made the difference!

Ordinary people

I realize that these were just ordinary people like you and me. They did not have the X-factor, but as a mix of people from different backgrounds they faced untold challenges such as being stoned in some cases, ridiculed, beaten, and hated, flogged, thrown in prison and yet lived their lives in devotion to Christ with fearless confidence!

We all know that Acts is Luke’s continuing story of the early Church with this book covering a period of about 30 years. It has been written to encourage us! I do not see the early Church as a ‘model’ we should duplicate but rather as a story that may trigger deep desire within our own hearts to live fully in the grace of God.

I simply want to highlight aspects of Church life found in this story to encourage, strengthen and spur us on to something much better in quality! An expression of Hislife experienced in our hearts and lived out in our society.

Here is what I discovered…

The Kingdom of God
One of the first statements that stand out for me is found in the early part of the Acts drama. “He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” I would love to have been there during those times. If the kingdom is an unseen realm where Christ rules and is not of this world then it follows that his disciples would live in this truth as an ‘ever-present reality’ – the early Church certainly did!

Paul speaks to the leaders in Miletus; “I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus.” [The Message]

It is the impact of a radical life change as Jesus comes to deliver us from darkness and transfer us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. This call of the King is an offer to share intimate fellowship with Himself and as a result to shape within us a radical trust in His ways. The word radical in our society conjures the thought of extremism but within the kingdom of God it is simply laying the axe to the root of our old life and living by another life!

I do not think that it is a coincidence that Luke opens the continuing story by telling us about all that Jesus began “to do and teach.” He always demonstrated The Way and taught about it afterwards.

Is this one of those keys which helped the early believers to live the way they did? An awareness that the kingdom of God had been opened up to them like a wide door and seeing for the first time what God does with a life as he sets it right, puts it together and completes it  with the promise of righteousness, peace and joy!

The kingdom and the King were not separated in the minds of those who went out to ‘gossip’ the good news of the Kingdom. He told them in no uncertain terms that they would receive power and be his witnesses.

These ‘convinced’ people had been deeply changed with the Promise of more to come.  Life would never be the same as they thought back to the ministry and powerful words of John the Baptizer;

“I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama- compared to Him I’m a mere stagehand – will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.” [The Message]

Father, we ask that you would ignite a fresh fire in our hearts and begin to fill our lives with a new passion today!

Natalie,  a  dear friend of ours wrote this poem and it expresses our need to draw aside to drink from the well of Life – Jesus.

The Well

There is a well inside me

Goes down into the deep

Place of rest and comfort

From the pace of life’s drum beat

It’s walls are never shaken

It’s presence ever strong

There I’m washed and drink

And fill my thirsty soul’s long

The well springs up with water

A loving liquid life

Collecting up my tears

And calming fleshly strife

With hope afresh I rise

Return to day’s demands

To follow deep’s direction

And live in love’s commands

Following on from some statements that John Beaumont made on our last post, here is a poem he wrote that will encourage you deeply…

ALL THAT GOD IS

All your love, Lord, yes, all your love,

Immense as earth and the heavens above,

Has filled and flooded this simple life

And lifted me high above struggle and strife.

You love me now as much as you’ve ever done,

And as much as you ever loved anyone.

……………..

All your grace, Lord, yes, all your grace,

Speeding its way through time and space,

You pour out sweet blessing, encouragement, love,

Imparting your life through the indwelling Dove.

I’m strengthened, encouraged, inwardly new,

And seated in Heavenly places with you.

………………….

All your glory Lord, yes, all your glory,

Where are words found to carry the story?

Limitless power, majesty, gentleness, love,

Revealed as you choose, as in heaven above.

Your intimate presence is awesome, sublime

And finds me silent and prostrate time after time.

…………………..

All your power, Lord, yes, all your power

Can accomplish your purpose in my life this hour.

God of creation and its sustainer is He,

Making triumphant living possible for me.

Though least of all, yet with a full trusting heart,

I revel in the joy and peace you now impart.

………………….

All of my need, Lord?  I need nought but you.

Your care leaves no lack; I’m blessed through and through.

I am safe in your hands, fully satisfied too,

Each day without fail you my spirit renew.

Your love is so special and your grace is enough

To carry me through when my day’s very tough.

……………………

All your grace, all your glory,

All your love, all your power,

Extended to me each moment each hour

Are a foretaste of heaven

Right here, and right now!

And I love you with all my heart.

Our friend John Beaumont recently sent us these statements which are worth reading and then contemplating. As Christians, we can become so locked into our own need rather than seeing that He has made every provision for us right now to be amazingly free. I love this…we have no need but Him!

WHAT NEED?

ALL YOUR LOVE, LORD

I’ve scarcely dipped my feet in its boundless ocean … yet your love has filled, flooded and overflowed this life of mine.  I am beginning to realize that no one has ever been more loved than I am right now.

ALL YOUR GLORY LORD

Your glory is the expression of all your sweetest gentleness, unrivalled majesty, and limitless power.  Though dimly reflected in the starry universe and the matchless beauty of nature surrounding us, yet the splendour, majesty and glory of your intimate presence often causes me to be silently prostrate before you.

ALL YOUR GRACE, LORD

Grace flowing from your immense heart of love brings mercy, forgiveness, acceptance, salvation, life in your family, and abounding blessing.  I’ve merely touched the garment hem of your great grace, yet I stand in silent awe that I, the least of all, simply a God-filled nobody, am seated in the heavenly realms with Christ – by grace alone!

ALL YOUR POWER, LORD

Power to create, transform, renew and to accomplish your highest purposes.  You have created all that exists by the word of your power, yet you reside in humbly yielded trusting hearts, providing radiant, peace-filled, victorious living that is freely available to me, the least of all and most unworthy.

All my need, LORD?

I have no need but you.  Your care leaves me with no lack; your love keeps me deeply, fully satisfied; and the precious Holy Spirit’s indwelling Presence provides me with the infinite privilege of enjoying a foretaste of heaven here and now.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:19  NIV]

Breaking the Bottleneck  by John Beaumont (Church of My Dreams)

It was an amazing dream. It could be one of the most significant revelations that God the Spirit has entrusted to me to share with His people!

I saw what appeared to be an hourglass of gigantic proportions. In fact, the top of it seemed to reach into the heavens, so that I could not see the upper rim at all. The lower portion of the hourglass was smaller than the upper part, so that if what was in the top part were to pour into the lower part it would not be able to contain it all. The lower portion of the hourglass was so immense that it covered great nations, including South Africa, where I was at the time. The lands inside that lower part seemed to be in a condition of drought and famine, with need and hunger everywhere, and with very little nourishment to be found anywhere. The lands cried out for rain, and the peoples were in desperate need of hope, health and nourishment. Shadow and gloom shrouded the countryside. Here and there I perceived pockets of abundance, but they were pitifully small and inadequate for the countries encircled by the hourglass.  READ ON

In the church of my dreams there is a quality of leadership that we probably all desire to see functioning, but find hard even to describe. Here or there we have commented about some person or other, “If only all church leaders were like that!”
In the New Testament there are various words used for such terms as “authority” and “rule” in connection with leadership, and they frequently are open to the possibility of a wide range of interpretation and understanding. For example, there is a variance of meaning between “Obey your leaders,” “Obey your spiritual leaders,” “Remember those who lead you” and “Be mindful of those who are guiding you.”
In our day there is a major danger of using the kinds of authority found in the world about us as a yardstick for our understanding. This will never do! We cannot compare leadership in the church with officership in military forces, nor with management of business establishments, nor yet with the “authority of a politician in power.
Because of the range of possible interpretive translations it is of utmost importance to have a basic understanding of essential biblically stated qualities and descriptions of leaders. This will provide boundary lines for our understanding of God’s purposes in the realm of leadership.  READ ON….

I have been reading Acts recently and asked our dear friend John Beaumont about this statement in Acts 2.

Q: In Acts 2:42 “…they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching…”  Would you say this statement relates more to the devotion of walking in what they heard as opposed to actually sitting and listening to the apostles teaching? Some would use this verse to justify meeting centred church life and more and more preaching!!!

Response:

The apostle’s teaching was unique in that these men were able to share the Lord’s heart and mind having experienced life with/in Him first hand as no one has since.  I have no doubt that in the early church people devoted themselves to living out what the apostles taught.  Jesus’ teaching was ‘teaching to do’ as shown in “He who does these sayings of Mine.”  So should teaching today!  Meeting centred church life makes it very difficult indeed – if not impossible – for today’s believers to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching.  READ the whole article

Devotion of the Heart

In my previous article about living life beyond the borders I wrote about something that has persistently stayed alive

Waterfall

within me and which I feel carries some significance for the days ahead.
I believe it is a redemptive word for the Body of Christ at this time. I am convinced that our Father desires to help us to understand what it means to live ‘experientially’ beyond the borders which have been imposed upon our lives from different sources. These borders are the unnecessary limitations that have marred our lives causing pain, fear, heartache and discouragement.
There is an immense purposefulness within the heart of God to bring us all into a place of intimacy with Himself and in this process releasing us from these restricting borders, whatever they may be. This Fatherly passion is summed up in a translation of James 4:5

“the Spirit which He made to dwell in us jealously yearns for the entire devotion of the heart.”

The Gospel is always good news, even when we do not perceive it to be. Christ’s desire for you and me is to bring us in to an experiential freedom of the heart. And for that to grow within us let the cry of our heart be, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”   READ ON

 This is how the Psalmist describes what our God is like; “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”  [Psalm 145:8,9]

Feed My lambs

If you are part of a growing number of Christians who are leaving the organized church there is a price to pay. For some it will be higher than for others. It may be the simple question, “Where do you fellowship?”  or “what church do you go to?” that triggers guilt and  that horrible feeling that you are not quite living up to the set standard.

You may feel that  the people who were calling you to come to the meetings are no longer doing so and because of that  loneliness sets in alongside the weight of guilt  you already feel!

The very sad part of this story is that there are some who do not survive the burdens placed on them to be more committed to the ‘vision’ or group. We have spoken and met with some who have similar stories. Rejected, isolated and disillusioned with everything relating to church and this god they have tried so hard to please but without success. They have invested years of their lives in this process only to end up suffering with burn out!  These believers have lost their freshness in Jesus and their desire to press on, mostly because they have been trying to shoulder the weight of “doing for God” rather than knowing the freedom of embracing what God has already done for us in Jesus.

The scars of ‘religious obligation’ run deep within the soul and can rear their ugly head at any time. But, there is great hope!

Healing and freedom

We are convinced that there is healing and freedom for all those who call upon the name of Jesus. There is healing and encouragement for those who are bowed down and hurting, those who are vulnerable and in need of a fresh touch from Jesus. For those whose lives have been scarred in any way by the “religion of the Pharisees” there is a way beyond these restricting borders……………MORE