September magazine

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SEPTEMBER 2010

“I am sending upon you what My Father promised, so wait ... until you are endued with power from on High ... for you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me”

Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8

Transformed Lives!

Two thousand years agoJesus promised His disciples that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit when the Father fulfilled His promise to them, and that when the Holy Spirit came upon them they would be witnesses to Him.

Two thousand years later, on the other side of the earth from Jerusalem, the Lord again poured out His Spirit upon hungry hearts of many Christians in New Zealand in what later became called the charismatic movement. From the mid 1960s for the next 30 or so years, the Spirit of God moved upon many Christians – often upon young people – and the fullness and gifts of the Spirit were imparted to many believers.

About 18 months ago Bev Montgomery felt called to compile a book containing the testimonies of a number of people who were involved in the charismatic movement. This resulted in the recently-published book “Transformed Lives: The Move of God that Shook the New Zealand Church”. This book contains the stories of 19 New Zealanders who were powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit and now – 40 to 50 years later – have recorded what happened in those early days and how their lives have been transformed ever since.

The 216 page book includes chapters from David Cowie, Barry Austin, John Coyle, June Dooney, Brian Caughley, Dianne Milmine, Ian Garratt, Graham Braddock, Gerald and Gayel Paterson, Di Willis and many others. It makes exciting reading, but much more than that ... there is a strong call for God to once again pour out His Spirit on our land and move in powerful ways again, transforming Christians’ lives out of apathy, complacency and self-centredness; calling the lost to come to the Saviour for healing, cleansing and life transformation; calling the Church to rise up in unity and in the power of God’s Spirit to powerfully proclaim the Kingdom of God to a desperate and dying world.

Many of these young people, having been touched by God, were subsequently involved in Youth for Christ, Youth With A Mission, Teen Challenge, Open Air Campaigners, Open Doors with Brother Andrew, Intercessors for New Zealand, church planting and church growth, missions, outreaches to the hippies, people in jail, on the streets, beaches and coffee bars, and so on.

These were lives that were truly transformed, and the fruit of their lives continues today.

May that same hunger and thirst; may that same cry for God to come and visit us with revival; may that same sense of need of God’s presence, God’s Spirit, God’s power and the exercise of the gifts of His Spirit – come again to God’s people, both here in New Zealand and throughout the world!

“Lord, will You not again rend the Heavens and come down ...?” (Isaiah 64:1)

[For a short time while our stocks last, Intercessors for New Zealand has this book for sale at a bulk, pre-publication reduced price of $25 posted. The regular bookshop price is $26.95]

BIBLE STUDY

1 John 5

Studies from 1st John

5:1-5 Faith

When we put our faith in Jesus the Christ (Messiah) we are born of God (John 3:1-21). When we become a child of God, because we love God our Father we should, naturally, also love His Son, Jesus, and His other children too! If we love the children of God then we will also love and obey God the Father, because you cannot truly love someone without wanting to do things which please them (e.g., on their birthdays!) Loving God and being obedient to Him go hand in hand. And obeying God should not be a burden because:

1. We love Him

2. His commands are for our good

3. He gives us the desire and ability to conquer what is contrary to His will (“the world”).

By faith (and obedience) we get victory over the world, the flesh and the devil because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and He empowers us to conquer all that is evil.

5:6-13 The testimony of Jesus

v. 6 Jesus Christ came by water and blood – not by water only, but water and the blood.

Water = physical birth (when we are born again: water of baptism)

Blood = spiritual birth (when we are born again: cleansed by His blood)

Cf. Water and blood when Jesus was pierced on the cross. John 3:5-6; 19:34-35. Again, Jesus came in the flesh but is still God!

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, testifies or bears witness to the new birth – we are born again by the Spirit through the washing by water and by blood, which is received by faith.

Testify/testimony – legal, formal, under oath – much more than merely “saying” something.

v. 7 There are 3 that testify in Heaven: the Father, the Word (the Son) and the Holy Spirit; and these 3 are One.

v. 8 There are 3 that testify on earth: the Holy Spirit, and the water, and the blood. And, of course, these 3 agree!

We are born of the Spirit, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and baptised in water as a testimony to the world of our salvation!

v. 9 We can have absolute faith in what God has testified about His Son because we believe human testimony here on earth, so how much more can we rely on the testimony of God the Father, Jesus His Son, and His Holy Spirit? Their testimony is far greater than human testimony on earth – even from 2 or 3 witnesses.

v. 10 Besides this, those who believe in the Son of God have the witness of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. Conversely, those who don’t believe God are calling Him a liar because they don’t believe what He has said about His Son.

v. 11-12 This is the testimony:

· God gave us eternal life and this life is in His Son

· Whoever believes, and has the Son, has life

· Whoever does not believe does not have the Son of God and does not have life

Question: Do I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and do I have eternal life through Him?

If I truly believe, my life will show it and I will live a very different life from those who don’t believe!

v. 13 The reason John is writing these things to believers is to assure them that they have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

5:14-21 Prayer

Moreover, because of our relationship with the Lord we can boldly ask Him anything which is according to His will and He will hear us. And if we know this, then we can be sure we will get what we have asked for.

God only wants the very best for us, so we need to desire and pray according to His will – in other words, according to what is best for us! If what we want does not come to pass after prayer, we know it would not have been God’s best for us. This is like a child wanting, and asking for, something from their parents which might harm them in some way. A loving parent won’t give it to them! After all, loving parents want the very best for their children!

By the way, what we think is best, is not necessarily what God knows is best!

Have faith in God!

How should we pray if we see another Christian committing sin? Here we need to distinguish between sin which is “not mortal” and sin which is “mortal”. Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven (Matt 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10).

Hebrews 6:4-8 says that if a Christian commits apostasy, they would never be forgiven. (Also see 2 Peter 2, especially verses 1, 20, 21; 2 Thess. 2:3).

If a person persistently rejects the Gospel they cannot be forgiven and will not be saved.

This is more than back-sliding or committing sin!

If a person is born again by the Holy Spirit, receives the Holy Spirit into their life, and later totally rejects the Holy Spirit, there is no further salvation. If a person, in other words, has received all that God has given, and then rejects it, there is no hope of salvation.

Apostasy is the rejection of the Gospel and of God’s Son. You can’t be both apostate and saved! It is one or the other!

Concerning mortal sin, John says “I do not say that you should pray about that”. We can still, of course, pray for a person who may be in such a state, and leave the result to the Lord. Only God really knows a person’s heart.

Those who are born of God do not sin. The One Who was born of God (God’s only begotten Son) protects us so that the evil one cannot touch us (even though he may tempt us). We are God’s children and while the whole world lies under the power of the evil one, we are under the power and protection of almighty God. The victory is His – and ours, through Him! Hallelujah!

The Son of God has come. He has given us understanding so that we can know Him Who is true – His Son Jesus Christ, the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

We know Him, love Him, live in Him and are saved by Him. He – Jesus Christ – is the true God, and to know Him is eternal life (John 17:3).

As His children, let us keep our lives free from all idols, and worship the one true God, our Father, and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, in the anointing and power of His Spirit. Amen!

SUMMARY

The Gnostics tried to separate Jesus Christ into the Man Jesus and the Spirit, Christ/Messiah. They would say, “Jesus was the man who did the good works; Christ was the Spirit of faith”. But their error was that Jesus was only a man, like all of us – a sinner who died and did not rise again. Only His Spirit rose from the dead. But worse, they said the flesh was inherently evil and there is nothing we can do about it, so we can live a sinful life in the flesh as long as our spirit is saved! The Gnostics might say Jesus is the “works” and Christ is the “faith”.

But James 2:14-26 says that faith and works must go together, and that we are to emulate the life of Jesus Christ, doing His works and exercising His faith. Not one or the other but both – faith and works!

Ephesians 2:8-10 says: “By grace you have been saved, through faith; and that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”.

· No faith – good works won’t save you

· No good works – no evidence of faith!

Two great commandments: Love God – FAITH! Love people – WORKS!

As Christians, we are to “live as He lived” – and He lived a holy, sinless, perfect life, not a mixture of evil deeds and faith, but good works and faith. This should be our aim, with God’s grace and help!

QUESTIONS

1. We often think of commandments as things we have to do but don’t really want to do. Why should this not be true of God’s commands?

2. What does John mean by Jesus coming “by water and blood” (5:6)?

3. What is “the witness of the Holy Spirit” (5:10)?

4. Why is it important to pray according to God’s will? (Who knows best – God or us?)

5. “Those who are born of God do not sin” (5:18). Are we now sinless? How do we understand this verse?

6. Why are both faith and (good) works so essential in the Christian life?

P r a y e r S u g g e s t i o n s

HUNGER FOR GOD

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”

What a wonderful verse! Five wonderful words: “Blessed” – knowing God’s blessing, His favour, His provision, His smile, His presence; everything that is good in God’s eyes, bestowed upon us! “Hunger” – in order to be blessed we must really hunger after God; not just an experience of Him, but after Him! “Thirst” – we must also thirst after Him, after His Word, His presence; and thirst is an even greater measure of need than hunger because we can survive many, many days without food, but only a few days without water; how much more so the Water of Life! “Righteousness” – all that is right and good and pure and holy in God’s eyes because the Lord can only really dwell with those who are prepared to be washed in His Blood and clothed in His righteousness (and not just in theory but in practice as well!) “Filled” – filled full and to overflowing; saturated! But filled with what? Filled constantly with God’s Holy Spirit! (Ephesians 5:18). Isn’t that something to really hunger and thirst after? Pray that we all will!

THE MEDIA

Philippians 4:8 “Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good – if there is any virtue and if there is any praise – think on these things!”

The media probably influences most people’s thinking much more than we realise. Every day we are bombarded with ideas from the media: advertising, newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, films, the internet and so on. There is a huge amount of “information” out there, but mixed with good, wholesome truth are a lot of lies, misinformation, deception, perversion, ungodliness, liberal humanistic thinking and so on. The corrupting influence of the media on many people’s thinking about morals, religion, what is right and wrong, etc., is always potentially there. And it is so hard to only see, read, hear and think about those things mentioned in the Scripture verse above. Please pray for the media: for Christian use of the media; for the world’s use of the media; that those things which are good, true and wholesome will be what comes across and not the negative, sinful ways of the world and its evil (often subtle) influences on people’s thinking. May God keep our minds and hearts – our eyes and our ears – on things which are honouring to God, upbuilding to our faith in Him, and helpful to the society in which we live.

MEDIA MATTERS

Media Matters is an organisation which is seeking to deal with some of the social problems in our society by standing against evil influences which come through misuse of the media. The media includes printed matter (newspapers, magazines, books, etc), radio, television, films, DVDs, music, the internet, computer games, etc. Our people today are literally bombarded by the media – almost everywhere you turn – and while much of this may be good, a huge amount is not beneficial to people and can be positively harmful especially to young children and teenagers. Violence and immorality are probably two of the main evil influences which are tragically harmful to many people. Please pray for a “cleansing” of the media; that people will turn away from evil, and will turn to the Lord – ultimately the only one Who can forgive, cleanse and heal the bodies, souls and spirits of those who have been harmed or corrupted by evil influences. See www.viewers.org.nz

SMOKING

One of the major causes of health problems is smoking. Smoking is estimated to cause about 5000 deaths in New Zealand each year. While trying to discourage smoking, especially amongst young people and pregnant mothers or mothers with young children, there are also ideas of banning smoking in jails so that prison officers and fellow-inmates are not exposed to other prisoners’ smoke. However, if smoking helps people to relax and be less tense or violent then banning or decreasing smoking could lead to increased violence both in the home and in prisons. So it is a tricky situation! Ultimately the answer is to find peace with God – peace in our hearts, minds and spirits because of our relationship with the Lord, so that violence or any need for nicotine is not an issue. Pray for a rapid decline in the use of tobacco, and that people will find peace with God!

GAMBLING

Gambling is yet another thing in our society which can be so harmful to those people who become addicted to it and those who gamble money which they and their families cannot afford. It is one form of the “god of mammon” which Jesus warned against. Spending on Lotto last year rose 17% on the previous year, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the current economic recession. In the year to 30 June 2009 New Zealanders spent $2 billion on gambling! Almost 45% of this was gambled on gaming machines in clubs and pubs – the number one choice for gambling. Please pray for those people who are in bondage to gambling, that they will have the desire to break free, and that Jesus will set them free!