Evidence of God's True Sending #1

Because of the way the church has been led by people more than Jesus, we have a problem.  The problem is that people have launched into ministries by their own momentum, or the momentum of a ministry who sends them.  Obviously this causes disagreement and outrage to think what they are doing 'for the Lord' is not the Lord's sending at all.  So that it's not just an opinion, let's look at the scriptures to explore the nature of God's sending.

When God does anything He always creates an empty void for Him to speak into. The first few verses of Genesis are no idle poetry!  It is information on how God creates.  When a person is truly sent by God, an empty void must be created.  'Tohu and Bohu' are the Hebrew words used and relay the idea of a 'desolate vacuum.'  A 'formless void'  is the KJV, we can get the idea of the necessary canvas that God works with.  I have met people who are convinced they are sent by God to do a work but there was never the formless void 'canvass' that God speaks into.  Where else do we find this 'formless void' in Scripture before God does His unique work?

In 2 Kings 3 we find the story of the kings joining together to fight the Moabites.  Elisha is somewhat reluctantly with them but when the come across difficulties they call upon Elisha.  The word of the Lord was to 'dig deep ditches.'  This is a physical way of creating a formless void for God to act. Then, God filled the ditches with water. He had them create a space for Him to then fill.  The water filled ditches became the means of the victory when we read on.  

How do these things translate into our walk as New Testament believers?  The general observation from the Bible is a Spirit-led period of 'waiting.'  The Disciples were asked to wait for the Holy Spirit.  Paul had 14 years before He was sent to the Gentiles (Gal 2:1).     When we look at Moses and his 40 years of shepherding before he was sent to Pharaoh, we must ask why are these great men of God required to wait?   God is creating a formless and empty void within them.  He is excavating the heart, digging deep ditches!  Paul or Moses saw need and probably had opportunities to meet them. but both had determined that they will not move until the Lord fills the void and forms the sending.  

For God to issue forth from a person He must destroy what fills the space in the heart of a man.  Secret ambition, lust for power, the chase for 'get and gain' are all standard resident heart attitudes of fallen man, to name but a few.  So often, when a person has self-sent themselves into a ministry these unchallenged heart attitudes come out.  A formless void was not created by God within their hearts. They were not sent by God.   There are those who have yielded to God's process of digging deep ditches and they have waited for His processes to be complete.  God is still speaking into these formless voids and creating a sending!  This is very good news as His power and grace can issue forth into this dark world causing wonderful works to be done.

One huge error in the church is the idea that the primary mission of the church is to do works.  Someone hires a hall, gets a crowd then states the purpose.  Its been done for years and years but we need to think differently.  Works are the other side of the 'faith' coin but it is strictly the issuing forth of God's works, not ours.  So is everyone sent, is everyone a potential Apostle?  No.  But to be part of a genuine Apostolic work is something the Lord leads people in.  

Give yourself to the Lord and allow him to excavate your heart.  Resist filling the space with the stuff of earth.  Allow God to send you in His way, His time and His purpose.

Gary Ward

The Insatiable Jesus!

My tent-making role for some time has been youth work.  This has taken various forms from sports development (some years ago!) to teaching and now a housing role.   All of the sectors have a common factor - young people who have experienced challenging circumstances that have left them needing support.  One of the great privileges of my present role is that I can talk openly about Jesus Christ and share the good news of Gods rescue plan through Him.

We are doing two baptisms this coming Friday and this led to a young person, not saved, coming to the weekly Bible Study.  Previously I had chatted with her about Jesus but she is resistant to the message.  As she sat in the Bible Study she started to tell me why she didn't want to follow God. Take note that she has, in her admission, accepted that 'God' as a concept is perfectly fine.  Her problem lay in another area that was amazing to watch.

Un-yeilded

'God,' and the concept that He has come to rescue mankind wasn't a point of resistance, but that He has standards, was.  She doesn't like the idea that God would 'reject' certain lifestyles where she would accept them.  "I cannot accept God's opinion over my own," was the conclusion.  The conversation continued.  I relayed the important detail that we becoming a Christian is not the acceptance of a rule-book but the bowing before the Almighty Lord and King of the Universe.  Then it struck me!  The girl has not had Jesus, risen and glorified, revealed to her yet.  She has retained information over time but the Lord was still just a concept, an idea.  This wasn't something that was entirely new information to me, but in the conversation it was illuminated to me there and then.  No-one can truly drag their flailing hearts before the Lord unless they have been given a glimpse of His risen glory!

Just a glimpse!

It's been nearly 27 years since I experienced the insatiable draw, that consuming sense of... Him!  The chat reminded me that within the comings and goings of our lives, wondering how we fit and walking out 'today' with sometimes scant information, it's really all about Him... just Him!  That Jesus was revealed to me, and I was made able to perceive, was the grace that everyone calls amazing... and that it is!  The Father drew me to the Lord and at the right time showed me a glimpse of Him.  Let's not forget that whatever your own walk entails today, the Father saw it in his choosing to show you the risen Lord!   Good for us huh?  But what about the girl?

During the conversation, what I just explained, sort of... emerged into my heart / mind... spirit? So I just stopped talking.  I realised something I knew well, but needed a nudge about:  God can reveal Himself to her (and anyone) at His chosen time.  Our interaction with her was a strengthening of the portrait being painted of Jesus in her head.  What God can do, and I believe will do, is drag that picture into her heart and make it explode into a three dimensional reality that Jesus is alive, risen and glorified as her King and Lord of all.  When that happens she cannot and will not resist.  He is truly insatiable! 

Take heart!

This is also real for all those family members, friends and those in your scope of influence (you?). We often think that God is watching for a criteria where He will offer grace to a lost person.  The truth is that you and I did nothing to earn the glimpse of Jesus.  God did it at the right time.  Right now you can afford to cease the doubting, that gnawing worry that *-----------*  will never accept Jesus.  As we pray for them we can be assured that when God reveals the Lord to them they will be as knocked off their feet as you was!  They cannot resist... it's just a matter of time.  It is right to keep praying, not as if we are twisting God's arm to get on with it, but that we become calibrated towards His will and purposes.  Pray, trust and walk well.  

Gary Ward 

14/2/17  Update.  The girl received Jesus as her Lord and Saviour a couple of weeks ago.  Praise the lord for His grace and mercy.  

An 'Issachar Alert'

How can we know for certain what we should do in response to our times?  1 Chronicles 12:32 has been used to justify any old plan for years.  But is there a way of being sure we are tracking with the will and purpose of God accurately?

32 from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

Let's just begin by saying believers aren't 'Israel.'  Yet this verse can apply to God's beloved, chosen people.  So as a believer the challenge is to ask  'do you understand these times and know what believers should do?'  I want to offer an observation about the political year we have all witnessed.  And keep in mind the last 5 to 7 years of political revolt worldwide which has some wars still raging.  
A Vote Against Rote 

Yesterday Donald Trump became the next President of the United States.  He won the race by outing the political system and offering what it turns out to be what more people want:  freedom from the constraints and containment of a self serving government.  Like all systems, eventually the 'tail wags the dog' and invisible institutional forces and tradition rules the way it carries out its business.  Of course, believers know there are more invisible forces than these elements, but for now lets focus on what is actually happening before our eyes.  It is significant that not many months ago Britain voted to exit the European Union for much the same reasons.  So two massive nations have voted to not be part of their respective governing bodies, both citing corruption in the core constitutional practices. The people were tired of the 'machine' that churns out the same 'biscuits' no matter whose operating it.

When something happens twice we should take notice. 

God's Hand in History...

When Nebuchadnezzar  invaded Jerusalem it was something everyone who was listening knew would happen.  Through Jeremiah, God had warned his people to turn from their idols and practice what had been instructed.  They didn't so God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to make Judah a vassal nation. Subsequently Jehoakim did not understand the times and did not know what Israel should do.  He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and thus against the will of God.  Jehoachin also died doing this and over the rubble of Jerusalem, Zedekiah is led away blinded, to die in Babylon yet not ever seeing it - as predicted.     

The Pattern Disrupted...

For someone who witnessed the three sieges of Jerusalem, it was an act of God being executed before their eyes.  In the same way we must discern what God is doing today.  We must understand the times and know what God's beloved people must do.  What is supposed to happen is that everyone votes to keep their own lives secure, safe and prosperous.  In both cases the people have voted for change even if there may be personal cost involved.  When we witness the UK and USA have 'other-than' events occur politically, it can be observed that the Lord may be speaking.  What we are observing is true in the spiritual realm as it is in the natural realm.  When the people of the most powerful and influential countries vote to reject the corruption of governing bodies what can we say is the spiritual meaning?  Simply:  It's the same thing!

The Growing Remnant...

The Prophets told Israel / Judah that they are playing fast and loose with God's judgement.  The Priests and leaders were sternly warned to get their act in order or... *insert details of the judgement.* Now we have had years of warning to the leaders of the church and I see that the Lord is going to give His people clarity of sight to identify corrupt systems and structures in church and vote 'out.' Who has been doing this warning?  The Prophets themselves!  The Apostles!  And now those who are relaying their words to this generation!  Just as the people have voted to opt out of overbearing government systems, so God's people will increasingly walk from the man-led churches.  Now... a warning.  

Is This a Leading?

When someone connects something like I have above it can be handled wrongly.  For all the wrong reasons people leave their churches.  For some people, the system / structured church is right for them because their faith is fragile and they would never survive outside of it.  Someone once used the lyric, 'before you can swim you've got to be ok to sink.' If a believer is going to opt out of the system in MUST be God's leading or they risk injury to themselves and their families.  I have seen believers opt out of the church, even because they see the corruption, but then are decimated by the enemy and the lure of this world.  The reaction to a bad system and corrupt leadership is NOT a green light to 'go it alone.'  I stayed in a very corrupt system for some years before it was time to be led out by God.  Daniel was LED INTO a corrupt and evil regime by God, so seeing corruption is not God's leading by default.  I cannot emphasise enough that we respond to God's leading and must resist reacting to the problems.  That said, I do think the gap between people seeing the corruption of man-led church and God leading them out will shorten.  Anyone sensing God's leading to seek Biblical ekklesia should take it very seriously.

What God Will Lead You To

Just so you know I'm not sat here with a hotline to God!  I'm only taking what the Prophets said and applying it to our time.  Peter told us this leads to 'wholesome thinking ( 2 pet 3:1).'  In 1998 while on a trip to the east coast of Australia the Lord began accelerating my awareness that the church (and myself partying to it) was not right.  I left in 2000 and was led to start a small group in homes.  We simply met around a covenant meal and equal sharing as in 1 Cor 14:26.  It was a re-calibration towards what 'ekklesia' was intended to be according to the New Testament.  This is what the Lord will lead you to start or become part of.  In doing so, man's leadership of God's people diminishes and Jesus can be the head and leader as it should be.  Be ready for a time of significant transition because as I found, I was not immune to being system-ised.  God is still schooling me in certain areas where the system imprinted onto my mind.   I have to try hard in some areas to think freely.  However, the joy and freedom of gathering with family to remember Jesus far outweighs the struggle.  

And Most Important...

There are those who get so wrapped up in these issues that they take their eyes off Jesus.  We can be assured that with our gaze on the risen glorified Lord, no matter what comes our way He will have His will be done and His Kingdom come.   In Daniel 2 the rock not formed by human hands comes and smashes the iron and clay.  This causes the collapse of every influence that the previous empires have had on this world and Jesus, the rock, will rule and reign the entire earth.  Keeping our eyes on King Jesus is today's focus.  Let Him lead you to understand the times and know what you should do.
Gary Ward
10/11/16

USA in Crisis!

As I write this the United states is voting for Trump or Clinton.  Because the United States is a mover and shaker globally, who is in the driving seat is of primary importance.  The crisis in the USA however is not about the result of the election, it is all about the spiritual state of the country.  For many years the church has been modelling 'Laodicea' and Jesus tells us this is a problem of Biblical proportions.

In Revelation 3 Jesus speaks to the Laodicean church.  This church's title means, 'the judgements and opinions of the people.'  Implicit in this title is the fact that man is leading the church, not Christ.  The biggest problem with Laodicean believers is they don't think they are Laodicean!  Our materiel possessions have never been a problem to God.  It's when we value them over and above the place they should be in life, that's when we stray into error and idolatry.  What the Laodicean Christian does is not only value possessions but showcases them as evidence of blessing from God.  When we identify anything as a 'blessing' from God, it must be genuine fruit.  What is the genuine fruit?

Read Psalm 1

When you see a child in a Godly family grow into a walk with the Lord.  That's fruit.  A marriage that stays together... Fruit!  A life that is growing more in its affection for Jesus over time... juicy fruit!  A growing understanding of the purposes of God via the witness of the Bible Characters: you guessed it... fruit!  When the Lord adds to the number of your gathering we can see fruitfulness.  When the sweet wine of fellowship flows in the course of the lives of the believers can be seen as fruit.  Basically - what is the Lord growing and producing is His fruitfulness.

The last time I checked, fruit naturally grows on trees.  Groups that meet simply and allow the Lord to build his church and produce His fruit are like an orchard.  Trees are used to describe believers through the Bible and we would be wise to allow the Gardener permission to tend to His trees.  It's a beautiful thing to see the Lord grow fruit on his trees but He also prunes the trees.  This way He bears more fruit through that tree.  The USA has these groups and they are the increasing as believers flee the error.

Send in the Clones!

What we find in the USA is demonstrated in how fruit is handled by merchants.  Go to a supermarket and look at the fruit.  It is all shiny and the same colour.  It's all the same size and the misshapen ones get discarded or hidden at a discount bucket.  The lights make the humble apple look like its on stage and about to wow the world.  Rows upon rows of uniformity presented as merchandise to be sold for profit.  What I'm describing is the church culture that history has created where the people (Laos) have their own judgements and opinions (Dicea) handle the people.  Like the apples in the supermarket, believers are all the same, lined up in rows to look good to the world.  Worldly people buy into it and perpetuate the problem.  Jesus instructs what He will do with these believers and offers the solution in the letter to the Laodicean church in Revelation Ch 3.  Repent!

"True Darkness is when you Dont Know its Dark"

So it is important who becomes the countries leader, but this wont stop the problem of Laodicea.  The only way to escape the conveyor belt of  cloned Christianity is to return to the biblical dimensions of 'ekklesia.'  The hardest part of this is dragging our hearts before the Lord and confessing our lust for the things of this world and recognising our desperate lack.  Allowing Jesus to lead His church by doing this means the USA and all the aspiring mega-church-supermarkets will stop and return to bearing fruit that comes from the Lord.  To truly impact the country you live in, the answer is to be anchored into Jesus, risen and glorified as he can produce fruit that your communities can see is not of this world.  The President of the United States of America cannot affect your neighbours spiritually.  Only Jesus issuing forth  through you can make the impact.

Gary Ward

An End Times Survival Kit

We can't ship these things out to you but here is a list of things we can be doing to ensure we don't get led astray or walk into error over our focus.

1.  Anchor into Jesus.  This may mean hard decisions about your 'preachers.' Colossians 2:6-8

2. Carefully read the Prophets and Apostles while asking the Lord to show you His will. 2 Peter 3

3. Make sure you are led into roles tasks and functions... by God and God alone. Romans 8:14

4. Develop an understanding of the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16

5. Be Discerning. Jesus said 'Do not be deceived' as a headline issue for end times.  Matt 24:4

6. Manage people.  Some people are 'kryptonite' to your walk.  1 Cor 15:33

7. Keep very short accounts.  Repentance is a lifestyle not an event. 1 John 1:9

8. Don't make 'worship' just something you do at church.  It's your entire life!  1 Cor 10:31

9. Be ready to share your faith.  Rehearse what you will say. 1 Peter 3:15

10.  Predetermine to be an ambassador of love.  Even when it is hard.   The Bible.

Gary Ward

Three Signs of End Times

History has thrown up good reasons for believers to think they are in the last moments of history before the Day of the Lord.  I can't imagine being herded into a subway for any other reason than a sandwich.  But in world war 2 people hid from hundreds of bombs dropping from planes.  Sat hearing explosions in my city would have stirred feelings of 'end times' for sure.  It turns out that World war 2 was not the Antichrist, although it was a type of Antichrist in Hitler.  The Bible is clear that the entire world will be taken in by the Antichrist proper, and if you feel it is too ridiculous to imagine we have been shown Germany, the nation of the finest and most brilliant people on earth be sucked into the Nazi regime.  Why would anyone claim that the days we are in now bear the marks of 'end times' more than any?

1.  The level of deception

Firstly we have the fact that deception is everywhere.  On being asked about the last days Jesus said 'do not be deceived.'  I rarely meet a christian who is grounded in solid biblical teaching.  They are either so worldly that you can't see the mark of new birth or so stuck in the mindset of Laodicean church practice that they will never receive anything to re-calibrate their spiritual compass.  The prophets and Apostles told of these things and its nothing new.  In the end times everything is concentrated but God always provides a remnant who stay on track.  You can tell who they are because they will not compromise the speaking of truth even at personal cost and the detriment of their own progress.  It isn't about attention, adoration or applause for them.  Believers are strangely drawn to them or instantly repelled as the gap between truth and deception becomes more stark.  Be warned - there is a huge acceptance of false teachers today because of the error that says 'their hearts are right.'  Jude, Peter, Jesus all say this is not true.  Anyone teaching doctrinal error with no self assessment has something wrong spiritually.

2. Prophecy and Israel

The second mark of the end times being upon us is the events in Israel.  Since 1948 scripture has been fulfilled in and around Israel including the Jews returning to their own land.  This has to happen for the Day of Jacobs trouble to take place.  We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled such as Damascus being destroyed before our eyes (Isaiah 17).  This is not a regular thing.  It is a once-and-only-once event for anyone who is watching and remotely interested.  As these things continue to occur we have to conclude that the Bible has always been forensically true and our unbelief is the issue.

3. Believers falling away

The third of three things to highlight in this writing is the falling away of believers.  This is connected to the first two issues.  Deception takes believers away from their living source Jesus Christ and they find their level as a non distinct entity in the world.  The detachment from understanding the Jewishness of the Bible and the Lords intent towards the Jews (Rom 9-11) leads to a woeful neglect of what the scriptures say.  As the gap widens between the Jewishness of the Gospel mixed with the false teaching of Laodicean faith, people fall into a category rather than a vibrant faith that stands for Jesus.

As we say to everyone who comes to our house group, 'be discerning.'  I want people to come to us and assess what issues forth from us.  We want people to be accessing things that aren't deceptive and focused on the truth about God.  We want people to be able to figure this out from the Lord, not from the propaganda weaved into the Bible teaching or preachment.  We want people to find true connection as the family of God and try to walk it out well.  We want people to be watching the world as the are dieting on the word.  We want that to lead to a healthy perspective on their own occasion as a believer and be a vessel the Lord can issue forth through.  We practice the first things while having our eye on end times.  The times are growing darker and it is getting harder to find believers who have stayed clear of the sensual, ear-tickling sound-byte merchants whose aim is to promise much yet deliver nothing.

Please make sure you read 'The End Times Survival Kit' coming next

Love in Christ

Gary Ward

The Present and Coming Famine

Amos Chapter 8 is fairly substantial and it is important to read it now to make sense of the rest of this writing.  Essentially it is time for Israel to be judged by God. Amos heralds this time as imminent for the people at the time.  As with the prophets generally, the content applies also to the first coming and second comings of Jesus.  It is just a simple fact that the dynamic between God and mankind has patterns.  There are the unbelievers who are doomed.  There is the faithful believers and the unfaithful believers.  It is generally unfaithful believers the Lord directs judgement towards whilst we know the unbeliever is hurtling towards the White Throne of Judgement anyway.  

Today we have a situation where believers are going ahead with practices that defy the scriptural boundaries for walking with God.  Christ-professing people are behaving more like Baal worshippers in some charismatic circles.  There is always consternation about interpretations of God's word but these days we have people who deny fundamental doctrines.  There has always been those who see 'ministry' as an opportunity to make money and it is the people who have little to start with that get sucked into the error.  This is something I feel is a pertinent for this exact time we are in.  Amos 8:4-6

  “Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy,
    who intend to make the poor of the land fail,
5 and who are saying,
    ‘When will the New Moon fade
        so we may sell grain,
    and the Sabbath conclude
        so we may market winnowed wheat?—
shortchanging the measure,
    raising the price,
        falsifying the scales by treachery,
6 buying the poor for cash,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
        selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’ ISV

Grain and Wheat is the word of God.  Amos indicates this in verse 11 onwards.  Today we have people who lead believers and they sell the word of God and market it.  Not only that but the quality of the word of God is diminished.  They sell the chaff... the degraded bits that bulk up the content.  I remember sitting in on sermons that are devoid of the exegesis of the Word of God.  They are speeches aimed at keeping the attendance and as a by-product, keeping the cash flow.  It is usually people who are poor that buy into the false gospel that promises multiplied returns for a generous investment by rote.  The leaders feel they are doing God's will by building 'ministry' when the whole idea of God's people assembling is to build the people up.  Judgement is here for those who, as the KJV version tells us in v 5 are: making the ephah small, and the shekel great. That is, the word of God is reduced but the cash is increased. 

The famine we have for Gods word will only increase and a sign of the judgement upon these is scratching around for God's word.  While you do hear some standard preachment from the money preachers they really have nothing to say.  The 'payload' that comes from a believer who is walking with the Lord is absent yet they can fill the seats with people.  God opting out of something is the scariest thing judgement-wise.  I want a bolt from the blue so I can see my wretchedness!  But if God has 'left the building' and everything goes on as normal... that is worrying.  Yet this is the mark of the famine.  When God leaves an endeavour it is reduced to a mere religious festival yet many see the numbers, slick and shiny productions, as a mark of God's signature.  The blind lead the blind.  

When a famine occurs everyone has to endure it.  However, before Jesus' first coming there had been about 400 years of silence.  No Prophet had spoken even though much was occurring politically in and around the Land of Promise.  Then John the Baptiser starts heralding the coming of Messiah.  His voice was, as John reminds us of Isaiah 40:3 a 'lone voice crying in the wilderness.'  The characteristics of John the Baptiser are a pattern that could earmark those who are sent to provide food in this famine.  There are those raised up who bear the characteristics of John to herald the second coming of Jesus.  Don't be surprised if you see unknowns emerging from obscurity speaking out strongly to return to God's word in repentance.   It will be no shock to see counter-culture utterances coming from believers who are 'scruffy' like John the Baptiser was, compared to the 'rock-star' religious of his time.  You probably wont like the accents of those sent to speak forth God's word or their straightforward delivery of truth.  Like the religious cohort in Jesus time you may want to shut them up!

Is there any good news?  Of course!  Chapter 9 tells of further misery by Gods hand on sinners but again we see the idea of a remnant saved from the whole.  Let's get before the Lord, ready for his sifting hand, a Holy audit of our walk and what we party to.  Let's be about His word and watching for anything that bends us towards love of this world.  Let's cast off all the things that make any of this about us.  It's all about Jesus and Him glorified.  

Gary Ward