I don't actually want to talk about the Bish or gay christians - for me all this has highlighted his opponents!!

Did you see the chap who heckled the Bishop at St Mary's Putney?
Is he a member of the Church of England or even a christian? If he is not then I dont think he has any right to be interfering in church matters, just as the church has no right to interfere in his matters!

If he is a christian then he should consider these matters, all to be found as guidance for the conduct of christians within the Bible:
Is he without sin? He can only throw stones if he is
Is he a recognised church leader? He would need to be of equal or senior 'rank' to speak to a Bishop in such a manner.
Has he followed the biblical 'complaints procedure'? Speak privately to the person who has caused offence first - then go to the ministers and the Bishop's seniors and only then can the complaint be made publicly by those to whom the Bishop is under authority.

Has the heckler expressed Christ's love and grace to the Bishop? Or has he judged the Bishop with human eyes and mind?
Anyone who quotes the verses from Leviticus has immediately lost any argument or authority as the Old Testament (or covenant) has been surpassed by the New Covenant, the covenant that says jesus paid the price for sin.

Personally I have no problem with the Church of England splitting or even disbanding completely. Maybe when that happens people will stop looking at 'the Church' and look to God; stop leaning on the institution and lean on God, in faith!

Comments

Religious activity makes us feel good.  It makes us feel we are 'working out our salvation', that we are doing 'penance' for our sin.  That we are making ourselves worthy.

Faith makes us more wobbly.  Faith is reliant on trusting what we cannot see, trusting in what we hope for.   To the mind, to the flesh, there are no guarantees attached to faith.

The problem is that religion actually defeats the purpose of faith.

No group of people in the Bible were more religious than the Jews, and yet the story didnt end with them.

Religious activity just wasnt enough to satisfy God!!

The walk of faith is the complete opposite of a religious walk.

One reason for this is the need for a relationship with Jesus, not just following rules in a book, but knowing and following Jesus.

This calls for revelation.  It means meeting Jesus as a reality and building a relationship with Him.  It means learning and not just doing.  It means making mistakes.  It means realising that, if we seek to serve His will in our lives, we are NOT in control of our lives and destiny.
It also means being self-disciplined.  Choosing what is right to do rather than what we want to do. Sacrificing our human instincts and impulses in favour of what is right and good for us.

Poor self image and lack of self-esteem are one reason why people prefer religion.  Religious activity feeds our ego - we can value ourselves according to activity, according to what we achieve.   In the walk of faith, Jesus says 'I value you for who you are not for what you do'.  Many of us cannot cope with that.  We cannot see why anyone would value us just for being us.  Especially when we dont even like ourselves very much.

Religious activity is also safe.  If we can follow a set formula for worshipping God (for instance) then we do not have to use our minds let alone our hearts.  Following an order of service by rote does NOT
involve opening our hearts to hearing from God, and therefore to vulnerability.

Sometimes God chides us.  Whilst always with loving intent, that chiding, that guiding and resetting our feet on the correct path, can be difficult to cope with.

Others prefer religious activity in order to be in control. Their whole lives are controlled and usually very ordered.

A walk of faith might involve going up to a stranger and telling them that Jesus has revealed they are sick but He wants them to be well, can you pray for them?

The walk of faith might be falling prostrate in church in awesome worship of God, or in a time of refreshing, laughing openly and heartily as God touches your spirit.

So where does this leave us?

I don't think God minds overly what sort of church we go to, whether we are traditionalists, reformists or charismatics.

What is important to god is that we have a relationship with Him and that whatever we do is of faith and not mere ritual or habit.

Will you consider your religion today? Is it of faith or is it of habit?

Be blessed. 

Comments

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.

The Greek word which is translated 'body' is the same word which is used to talk of the 'body of Christ', meaning the church.

It would be convenient to believe and understand this to mean recognising Christians as fellow Christians but I think that is rather too simplistic.

Let us bear in mind that this was a letter which was not written in chapters and verses but as a continuous piece of text with standard punctuation rather than verses etc..

Virtually the whole of the letter up to this point has been talking about divisions in the church caused or threatened by different matters, or manifest in different ways.

Recognising fellow Christians as such would still allow room for division for whatever reason and would not be in line with the unity that Paul was working so hard to promote.

What I believe Paul was actually saying was, "recognise in each and every member of the Body of Christ, the working of the grace of God, His power and authority invested in and used through them, and treat all brothers and sisters, in love, with all due respect and submission."

The longest prayer of Jesus found in John 17 was almost entirely on the subject of unity within the family of God. Whereas Paul's letter was written at the time specifically to the church at Corinth, Jesus' prayer was addressed to the Father and was for believers worldwide. Unity, in other words 'recognising the body', is for all believers and between all believers.

I believe that 'recognising the body' is particularly and practically worked out in a lifestyle of submission.

We must be submitted first and foremost to Christ's working and purposes in our life. If his Lordship in our life is not our hearts desire and evident in our lives, then unity is not possible. The result of this is alienation from Jesus, and the Spirit of God working in our lives being quenched. Our hearts need to be surrendered and submitted to God to do His work of changing us according to His pattern. A lack of God's grace in our own lives (and grace comes from an ever-deepening knowledge of Jesus) will hinder us recognising the working of grace in another's life.

Next we need to be submitted to our church leaders.
Staying or being in a church is not submission. Judas stayed as a disciple of Jesus, yet his heart was far from Him and in no way submitted to Him.
An example of submission is this: A leader asks me to do 'A'. If I do not think this is a good idea, then I should say so constructively, humbly and with respect for my leader’ position. If he asks me again, then I should do it, eagerly, without complaining, fully supporting his decision because he is God's anointed leader. Our leaders have Christ's authority in church and Kingdom matters, they are also held responsible for what he does so decisions are not taken lightly.
Consider King David, he had two opportunities to kill Saul, but his submission to God's authority structure would not allow him to do it. In human terms, David taking Saul's life could be considered wholly justified.
Within Kingdom authority structures though there is no justification (except as shown in matters of church discipline) for lack of submission to godly authority.
Even if I believe wholeheartedly and am totally convinced that a leader may be wrong, submission is accepting who and what he is in the Kingdom, and I must support him in that role.
If we are unable to respond in this way then we are not accepting his leadership, his authority and anointing, and we have no right to be in that church.
Submission is not slavery. We submit to others from a heart of love. The heart of love overflows in expressions of support.
If things do go wrong later, or a decision proves to be a wrong one, a heart of love does not say "I told you so". It helps pick up the pieces, supports through any crises, states continued support, and rejects criticism or critical attitudes that foster and create division.

Thirdly, and not least important, is submitting to one another. I may not agree with what a brother does, but if he is doing it in faith believing that is what God is saying at that time, then I should support him in it. I ought to sacrifice my opinions and submit in favour of the deeds prompted by my brother’s faith.
I may not agree with the way the worship leader is leading the meeting but he has been appointed to that position by those who have authority to do so and I must submit to the wisdom expressed in that appointment.
Submission is not slavery, but it is servitude. An attitude to serve. To serve a brother or sister is to submit to being a blessing to them, to submit to meeting their needs, not in their own (selfish) interest, but in the interest of the building of the body of Christ and the extending of His Kingdom.

One other aspect in recognising the Body is, recognising the status, in our own hearts, towards Christians from other churches. They may well worship differently to ourselves. They may well believe additional bits or take away certain beliefs we hold. They may well put the emphasis on something differently to ourselves. But they are still brothers and sisters in Christ. They are equals. Recognising the Body means recognising Christians of all denominations equally, without judgement and in mutual and/or appropriate submission.

Comments

Thank God He never forces His way upon us, except perhaps in the sense of He moves people to do certain things in order to achieve His purposes.
It would be no great problem for Him to make us all into humanoid robots, obeying His every will and desire. It would be no great problem for Him to impose strict Laws that we all had to obey, but this was what went wrong with the Israelites in the Old Testament times. Apart from one or two exceptional individuals they never developed a personal relationship with the God who revealed His loving kindness and person to them in so many different ways. Despite the necessity for their rituals of sacrifice there was still room for personal relationship, but alas, few discovered it.

His overwhelming desire though, is that men and women should respond positively to Him, in obedience, but from a heart of love, and in an atmosphere of relationship, towards Him, and thus achieve His purposes.

Freewill is something that he never needed give us when he created mankind. He could easily have built in anti-independence limitations, or taken away that part of our character and personality that desires to freely express who and what we are. No, it was a great act of His love for us, to give us freewill.

He was giving us our freedom. He was allowing us to choose our lifestyle, and our destiny. His desire though, was that we love him. His eternal hope is that our obedience would be from a heart of love, and would be in response to His Fatherhood and Divinity.

Comments

As these groups grew and bought buildings, day to day administration and organisation became more cumbersome.  The leaders who emerged from some of these groups became household names in what became known as the 'restoration' movement.  Restoration of God's Kingdom, church and purposes was the aim, and these leaders started travelling outside of their local area and planting churches in other areas of the UK..  A few years later, they started travelling the world and planting churches elsewhere.  

It was almost as if there was a competition to see which 'group' could plant the most churches and become the biggest, though I am sure that in the leaders minds this was far from the truth.

To come up to date, here we are around 60 years later, and most of the original church 'planters' have now died.  Sad to say, mainly, though not completely, so have their 'churches'.

So what went wrong?

The men of God who originally heard and received the Word of God about the new move of the Holy Spirit of God were sincere, prayerful and godly men.  Of that there is no doubt.  It was the Spirit and grace of God that made them who were they were.
I think they were 'overcome' by the results of the power of God as He honoured their faith.  They were seeing many, many people healed, and coming into a knowledge of God and relationship with His Son Jesus Christ.  I believe they wrestled fiercely in their spirit's with pride.  I personally know of that struggle, and how easy it is to allow one's heart to deceive one.  On the one hand we have the fruit of ministry, healing, salvation, deliverance, by the grace and power of God; on the other hand it is 'us' doing it.  It is very easy to slip into pride and start to believe that we really are doing all this.  That we are using God's power for His purposes rather than he is using us for His purposes.

What these men built upon was a foundation laid by God.  His revelation of His purposes and the work of the Holy Spirit as He went before.  The foundation was solid.  It was good.  Alas, the building, which I am sure had started well, was not so solid.  It was a flimsy structure ultimately based on man's ideas and pride, hence why it collapsed when the men died or moved on.

Nothing can be laid upon God's foundation, other than God's building blocks.  His way, or no way!  Human or carnal ambition has no place in the building of God's temple.  Can you mix sand with gold and expect superior strength and an eternal structure?  Pride has no place to stand with faith.

We cannot build with timber a structure to withstand holy fire, and we can be sure that the fire of God's Spirit will test all our works.

There will always be those who choose to follow their own ways, who corrupt the Bible, good character and water down faith with man made stories and inventions of worship.  They will be disowned and rejected in the final day.  Whether Paul or Appollos, or modern leaders, all our works will be tested, and we will be rewarded accordingly.

The men who founded the early charismatic church back in the 1950's were not bad men.  They will receive their reward from God.  But the lesson we must all learn is that if we want our work to withstand God's fire, God's shaking, then it must not become a new denomination, it must not become a man made structure, governed by men's rules rather than God's leading.  If the foundation is of God then we must stand together, encouraging and exhorting one another, in love, to keep the structure of God, lest all our work is in vain.  Better to judge ourselves than be judged by God.

Comments

During my journey I still heard from God. I wrote it all down and some of it has appeared in this blog. I had worried from time to time whether I was off the wall or not. A lot of what God had been telling me was very radical and could even be viewed as liberal.

Today I met with a senior church leader who I have known of for 25+ years and respected at a distance. Our paths had crossed several times over those years at various churches and conferences. I knew quite a lot about him, and knew he was a godly man to be respected.

Anyway I was having a meeting with him to discuss where church was at, what was happening and to decide if what he was doing I could join with. This despite my saying years ago I never wanted to be involved with church again. God has a wonderful way of changing our minds .

Anyway, I find, to my astonishment, that he is saying exactly the same things I have been thinking over the last ten years. This is good, very very good. It means that not only am I listening to God, but he is too. Unlike other church leaders who could live in fear for their jobs and ignore such things, Derek has gone on in faith, and is building church!!

I found we were one in mind, and am sure we will become one in heart too. I hope I have found my spiritual home.

Comments

The water changed into wine John 2:1-11
HOW? : By His Word - requiring servants obedience
WHY? : To build His disciples faith

Healing of a nobleman’s son John 4:46-54
HOW? : By His Word - requiring recipients faith
WHY? : To build faith and make believers

Healing of a sick man John 5:1-9
HOW? : By His word - requiring recipients faith
WHY? : Part of God's plan to show man is more important than Law

Healing of a man who was born blind John 9:1-41
HOW? : Use of mud - requiring recipients faith and obedience
WHY? : To display the work of God in the Man's life

Raising Lazarus John 11:1-44
HOW? : By His Word - requiring faith
WHY? : For Gods Glory

The hundred and fifty three fish John 21:1-11
HOW? : By His Word - requiring disciples faith
WHY? : To build faith in God's Son

Walking on the sea John 6:19-21
HOW? : Control of nature (?)
WHY? : To comfort and re-assure His disciples He was with them at all times

Feeding five thousand hungry people John 6:5-13
HOW? : By His faith and the faith of his disciples
WHY? : To meet a need & to reveal His glory and that He was the Messiah

Freeing a man’s soul which was possessed by demons Luke 4:33-35
HOW? : By His word - requiring the particpants faith
WHY? : To fulfil God's calling on His life

Healing of Simon’s mother in law Luke 4:38-39
HOW? : By His Word and the recipients faith
WHY? : Compassion

The enormous catch of fish Luke 5:1-11
HOW? : By His word and the disciples obedience
WHY? : To meet a need & to reveal his glory and build faith

Healing of a leper Luke 5:12-13
HOW? : By His word and His touch WHY? : Because the man exercised faith

Healing of a man who was paralysed Luke 5:18-25
HOW? : By His word of forgiveness and required the faith of his friends
WHY? : To fulfil their faith and fulfil Gods plan with respect to His destiny

The restoration of the withered hand Luke 6:6-10
HOW? : By His Word
WHY? : To show that man is more important than Law

Healing of a centurion’s slave Luke 7:1-10
HOW? : His Word
WHY? : The centurions expression of faith

The raising of a widow’s son Luke 7:11-15
HOW? : His Word
WHY? : Compassion

The storm Luke 8:22-25
HOW? : His Word
WHY? : To calm His disciples fears

Freeing Legion from the evil spirits Luke 8:27-35
HOW? : By His Word and authority
WHY? : Compassion for the man and for God's glory

Healing of Jairus’ daughter Luke 8:41-56
HOW? : Faith of the family and His Word
WHY? : Compassion

Freeing a boy’s soul which was seized by demons Luke 9:38-43
HOW? : His Word & authority
WHY? : For God's glory

Healing a dumb demon possessed man Luke 11:14
HOW? : Finger of God
WHY? : To bring the Kingdom of God to the people

Healing a crippled woman Luke 13:11-13
HOW? : By His Word and touch and her faith
WHY? : For God's glory and to show the legalism of the Jews

Healing a man with dropsy Luke 14:1-4
HOW? : By touch
WHY? : To prove that God's healing more important than Law

Healing ten lepers Luke 17:11-19
HOW? : Jeus's Word & their faith requiring obedience
WHY? : For God's glory

Healing of a blind man Luke 18:35-43
HOW? : His Word
WHY? : Fulfilment of faith of the blind man

Healing of a slave’s ear Luke 22:50-51
HOW? : Touch
WHY? : Correcting an injustice

Healing of two blind men Matthew 9:27-31
HOW? : Their faith and His touch
WHY? : Compassion and fulfilment of faith of blind men

Healing of a dumb demon possessed man Matthew 9:32-33
HOW? : Authority
WHY? : To 'prove' the Kingdom of God

Healing of the Canaanite girl who was seized by demons Matthew 15:21-28
HOW? : Faith
WHY? : To Fulfil her faith

Feeding four thousand hungry people Matthew 15:32-38
HOW? : Faith
WHY? : Compassion

The withering of the fig tree Matthew 21:18-22
HOW? : His Word and authority
WHY? : Lesson in faith in God

Healing a deaf and mute man Mark 7:31-37
HOW? : Fingers in ears, spit & His Word & recipients faith
WHY? : To fulfil friends faith

Healing a blind man Mark 8:2-26
HOW? : Spit and touch requiring faith of recipient
WHY? : to fulfil the blind man and his friends faith

Lets look at HOW he performed these miracles

By His word of forgiveness / His Word / Touch / Authority / Faith / Fingers in ears / Spit /
Finger of God

One thing to observe is that there was no 'method'. We don't do it this way or that! All the methods were reliant upon God - God's Word, God's forgiveness, God's authority. When Jesus touched people with his 'healing hands' they were healed, similarly when the woman touched his robe the power transferred to her and she was healed.

It is the anointing and power of God that heals, not the method of laying on of hands. The finger of God was used to drive out demons, it was also used to make the deaf hear - but please note - it was the finger of GOD! It was not the finger of someone hoping and praying for the best.

Let us look at the reasons for WHY he performed the miracles He did.

To build His disciples faith
To make believers
To show that under the grace of Jesus man is important than Law
To display the work of God in the life
For Gods Glory
To comfort and re-assure His disciples He was with them at all times
To meet a need
To confirm that Jesus was the Messiah
To fulfil God's calling on His life as Messiah
Compassion
fulfil Gods plan with respect to His destiny
To bring the Kingdom of God to the people
To show the legalism of the Jews
To prove that God's healing and grace more important than Law
Correcting an injustice
To 'prove' the Kingdom of God

Do you notice how all the reasons are God centred? He never healed everybody of everything, he admitted himself he couldn't. But everything was done for God's purposes, and our inner motivations will restrict how effective we are in 'ministry'.
Unless God says otherwise I dont believe healing today is for everybody under every circumstance - I believe it is for when God empowers us, and as Jesus realised, it is for when the anointing is upon us and we have been given that gift of faith for the occasion and we are not praying and hoping for the best. Faith is being SURE.......

May God bless you and teach you as you step out 'in faith' for him but remember what is said about Jesus in Luke 5:17, the power was with Him!!

If it isn't with us we should not feel pressured to 'perform'. Jesus didn't, He said openly, I can do nothing!!

Comments

It occurred to me that our father on earth will dominate our perception of our Father in Heaven.
If our earthly father was abusive, strict, unloving, dominating, weak, then that is how we will perceive our heavenly Father.

Yet God is consistent. The only thing (apart from taxes and politicians) that is unchanging in this life. His love for His creation is NOT like even the best father's love on earth. It is not subject to moods or well-being. It is sacrificial and unwavering. It is unconditional and without secret motive or hidden agenda.

Father God's love comes with only one motive or agenda. That is, that we, his creation, might become the best people we can. That we achieve the great potential He has created for us and that we enjoy the benefits of His Kingdom here on earth.

God is nOT an ogre sitting in the sky with a big stick! He is wanting the very best for us and has poured out His love, as evidence, before we were even twinkles in our parents eyes!

Comments

Does that make me a bad christian? Fortunately Jesus died to forgive all my wrongdoing, not just once or twice but forever. There is no such thing as a bad christian. Because of the work He does in us, we grow, we are NOT instantly made perfect. We are still human, a fact He well understands.

I curse and hate myself when I feel I have let Him (and me) down. But it is a strange Truth that He would rather have as a friend someone who acknowledges their humanity, complete with failings and mistakes, than someone who makes no mistakes and is 'perfect'.

Being 'not good enough' makes you perfect for the Kingdom of God. Don't hate yourself, He doesnt hate you.

But remember to show others the love and grace you know He shows you.

Comments

There are those that will blame 'God' for these bad weather conditions, and I briefly want to consider whether this is justified or not.

Q. Could God have stopped the rain?
A. God, has power over everything, so yes, he could have stopped/changed the bad weather.

Q. Why Didint He?
A. Why should He?

Q. Because He supposedly loves us all?
A. But you dont love him back, in fact you give Him very little consideration at all, if ever.

I dont necessarily think the rain's were 'from' God. Sure it is down to nature and no doubt He could have stopped them, but He uses the individual experiences for His own purposes in situations like this.

Q. So what is God saying to those of us who got flooded out of our homes?
A. If He is saying anything to us it is this: You have relied upon, and put your security in, bricks and mortar. You have surrounded yourself with your possessions and comforts, and in just a brief moment in time you have lost it all. But whether the rains come, the winds blow, or the sun burns bright, I am the only true security in life. I am the only real comfort in life. Whether weather, or war, I am still the same. I am always there, loving, caring, and providing for those who love me.

Q. So what about the Christians who got flooded out?
A. As Christians our persepective is different. Because we know the love and security of our Father in heaven, we rely on that. Sometimes God will use adverse circumstances to bring our focus back to Him, or to reinforce our trust in Him. But possessions and comforts should mean nothing to Christians, they are temporal. Our perspective is focussed on something more eternal.

If you have been affected by the floods, I hope and pray that you will get back to 'normal' soon. I also hope that in the midst of your own personal crisis you will discover the God who loves you, and put your hope, security and trust in Him.

Comments

My new flat is about 1/3rd the size of where we used to live.

This has meant a major clear out of clutter and important stuff like mementoes and hobby stuff.

Some of the 'stuff' disposed off has been important to me (of course this goes for the missus too). My entire collection of clowns (348 of them) has gone. My model making stuff has gone. My missus's collection of cuddly toys has gone. Almost every area of life has been affected.

Sometimes God does this to us too. In actual fact, I suspect God is behind my 'clear-out'.
It is a painful process but is important. Remove the stuff that slips into life and comes between us and God. Clear the horizons, so to speak, in order to see Him more clearly.

Personally I would prefer a clearer view of God than allowing Him to slip into obscurity, in my life, behind all the clutter.

Comments

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.

The Greek word which is translated 'body' is the same word which is used to talk of the 'body of Christ', meaning the church.  Not your 'church' or their 'church' but THE church.

It would be convenient to believe and understand this to mean recognising Christians as fellow Christians but I think that is rather too simplistic.

Let us bear in mind that this was a letter which was not written in chapters and verses but as a continuous piece of text with standard punctuation rather than verses etc..

Virtually the whole of the letter up to this point has been talking about divisions in the church caused or threatened by different matters, or manifest in different ways.

Recognising fellow Christians as such would still allow room for division for whatever reason and would not be in line with the unity that Paul was working so hard to promote.

What I believe Paul was actually saying was, "recognise in each and every member of the Body of Christ, the working of the grace of God, His power and authority invested in and used through them, and treat all brothers and sisters, in love, with all due respect and submission."

The longest prayer of Jesus found in John 17 was almost entirely on the subject of unity within the family of God.  Whereas Paul's letter was written at the time specifically to the church at Corinth, Jesus' prayer was addressed to the Father and was for believers worldwide.  Unity, in other words 'recognising the body', is for all believers and between all believers.

I believe that 'recognising the body' is particularly and practically worked out in a lifestyle of submission.

We must be submitted first and foremost to Christ's working and purposes in our life.  If his Lordship in our life is  not our hearts desire and evident in our lives, then unity is not possible.  The result of this is alienation from Jesus, and the Spirit of God working in our lives being quenched.  Our hearts need to be surrendered and submitted to God to do His work of changing us according to His pattern.  A lack of God's grace in our own lives (and grace comes from an ever-deepening knowledge of Jesus) will hinder us recognising the working of grace in another's life.

Next we need to be submitted to our church leaders.
Staying or being in a church is not submission.  Judas stayed as a disciple of Jesus, yet his heart was far from Him and in no way submitted to Him.

An example of submission is this: A leader asks me to do 'A'.  If I do not think this is a good idea, then I should say so constructively, humbly and with respect for my leader’ position.  If he asks me again, then I should do it, eagerly, without complaining, fully supporting his decision because he is  God's anointed leader.  Our leaders have Christ's authority in church and Kingdom matters, they are also held responsible for what he does so decisions are not taken lightly.

Consider King David, he had two opportunities to kill Saul, but his submission to God's authority structure would not allow him to do it.  In human terms, David taking Saul's life  could be considered wholly justified.  
Within Kingdom authority structures though there is no justification (except as shown in matters of church discipline) for lack of submission to godly authority.
Even if I believe wholeheartedly and am totally convinced that a leader may be wrong, submission is accepting who and what he is in the Kingdom, and I must support him in that role.
If we are unable to respond in this way then we are not accepting his leadership, his authority and anointing, and we have no right to be in that 'church'.
Submission is not slavery.  We submit to others from a heart of love.  The heart of love overflows in expressions of support.
If things do go wrong later, or a decision proves to be a wrong one, a heart of love does not say "I told you so".  It helps pick up the pieces, supports through any crises, states continued support, and rejects criticism or critical attitudes that foster and create division.

Thirdly, and not least important, is submitting to one another.  I may not agree with what a brother does, but if he is doing it in faith believing that is what God is saying at that time, then I should support him in it.  I ought to sacrifice my opinions and submit in favour of the deeds prompted by my brother’s faith.
I may not agree with the way the worship leader is leading the meeting but he has been appointed to that position by those who have authority to do so and I must submit to the wisdom expressed in that appointment.

Submission is not slavery, but it is servitude.  An attitude to serve.  To serve a brother or sister is to submit to being a blessing to them, to submit to meeting their needs, not in their own (selfish) interest, but in the interest of the building of the body of Christ and the extending of His Kingdom.

There are two other aspects of submitting to others which are very important in the interest of unity or recognising the body.  The first is accepting encouragement and the second is honesty between believers.

ACCEPTING ENCOURAGEMENT
Prayer and Bible study are constant subjects of encouragement within the church.  Those that enjoy great blessing and revelation from their Bible studies/meditation and those that have discovered greater depths in their knowledge of God and seen God actively responding to their prayers, often encourage others to seek the same blessings they have experienced.
They are eager to share the good they have received, however such encouragement is rarely received equally eagerly.  Such an encourager is often made to feel unwanted, unpopular, even religious or over zealous.
We are all encouraged in Hebrews 10 to encourage one another and such a refusal to accept encouragement is a refusal of one who is being obedient to the word of God.  There is in effect a refusal to recognise this member of the body, and what God has done in and for them.

This does however go beyond encouragement to read the scriptures or prayer.  Encouragement in matters of faith, godly lifestyle, to be of good cheer, in fact every godly encouragement we should actively accept.
So often it is tempting to say to ourselves, 'Oh it's alright for them', or, 'they don't know what it is like to be in this place'.  We can always find excuses and reasons to shoot down another's encouragement.
What is behind our doing this?  Surely it is usually the desire to wallow in self pity?  It is more comfortable or satisfying sometimes for us to whinge and moan, rather than act maturely and allow ourselves to be encouraged and get on with what we are supposed to be doing.

HONESTY
A lack of honesty and openness, complaining behind the scenes, backbiting, but presenting a different face publicly is treating the Body of Christ with contempt.
Recognising the body is speaking of regarding the body the same way Jesus and the Father does.  A body that is holy, blameless and dearly loved must be treated with respect.  To treat the body with contempt and disrespect is not recognising the body as it should be recognised.
It is for good reason that we are exhorted to not let the sun go down on any bad feeling lest a bitter root grows up, and that all things must be done in the light, failure to do both of these gives our enemies a foothold.
To bitch, whinge and complain, is to create spiritual division within the body.  Unity cannot exist where backbiting and dissension exists.  We may not agree, but we can, in love, submit to one another.
Pride demands it's own way, humility allows God's love and grace to cover all our indiscretions, lack of sensitivity, and mistakes.

In order to fulfil the command to 'recognise the body', we need to recognise authority in the church, one another's 'ministries' and appointments etc., each others position in Christ, and accept one another regardless of whether or not we agree.

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I wish this could happen again, because I have a message for church leaders.

I would start by asking:

How many churches are represented here today?
They would mutter and count up amongst themselves and give me a figure. Without wanting to be clever, which they would accuse me of, I would have to reply, "Wrong! There is just one church represented here, the church of God.
The trouble is that most people are so consumed by the belief that their 'church' is the right church, and theirs is the best church.
The problem is, and the biggest problem is they dont realise it, that thinking like that actually excludes them from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Not recognising the Body is something written about in 1 Corinthians Chapter erm erm 13 or 14 I think.
We are all part of the one church, one body! This is what we declare when we break bread. Yet still this attitude permeates the church from top to bottom.

Personally, I would lijke to see the name 'church' removed and every local group called "area name fellowship group" or something similar and get away from the spiritual pride that is swallowing and consuming Gods people.

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The subject is Grace.

None of us can know the depths and true meaning of God's grace. We all may understand something of it, due to our own experiences, but cannot possibly know the true height, depth width, and quality of it, at least until we go and meet our Maker.

I believe in an all powerful God, an all loving and graceful God, and still a mysterious God. Which means that I have to apply that belief to all aspects of life and death.

Which brings me to the question, who will we find in Heaven?

There is a verse in the Bible that says all those that know Jesus as Lord and Saviour will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ok, well that is the Christians sorted.

But what about those that have never heard of Jesus?
I cannot believe that God is so unkind as to condemn over half the people that have ever lived to an eternity without Him just because no one told them about Jesus. No, I know that God has instilled in mankind a spirit. That spirit causes people to seek and find the deeper and truer meaning and purpose to life. Many who have never heard of Jesus achnowledge a 'God'. For those that take consideration of the God they have discovered into their lives, maybe even worship in the way they have discovered too, I believe they too are heaven bound.

What about the Muslims and the Hindu's and others who worship another God?
I believe the same applies as for those who have never heard of Jesus. If they are sincerely worshipping in the spirit and in the truth (which not many 'Christians' can claim to do) of the divine revelation they have received, then they too will be accepted by God.

This is great. We are really getting to know and understand and grasp a sense of God's grace for mankind, the people He loves so much.

But there is a warning or two in the bible for those that the claim to be Christians. Much more will be expected from us, but still, according to His grace and love for us, it will be according to our knowledge and revelation of Him.

Now I guess, we all want to be recipients of this great love and grace, but there is a price to be paid. That price is that we have to accept unconditionally ALL those He extends His love and grace to. That means, the Africans, Arabs, Americans, Europeans, Russians, French etc etc..

Then there are those like rapists and murderers. They too will be judged according to their knowledge and revelation.

Then it could start getting really difficult. What about people like, Adolf Hitler, Fred West, Idi Amin, Stalin, Sadaam Hussein? We cannot judge their standing before God, but if He chooses that they are due his Love and grace, we cannot argue. In His eyes their 'sin' is no worse than ours. Sin is sin. And His love covers over (hides) a multidue of sins.

I am not saying that the evil people of this world will get to heaven, but they could!! They too could experience the forgiveness we hope for. They too could be genuinely repentant. We have to be prepared for that.

The only ones we can say for certainty wont see the Kingdom of Heaven are those that have deliberately gone against the knowledge and revelation they have had of Him and died in that rebellion.

Incidentally, when I use the word 'knowledge' I am not speaking of an intellectual knowledge, but a knowledge, or enlightenment, held in the heart brought about by revelation.

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I would talk about about him all day every day if I could, but the point is, only to fellow Christians.
Non Christians, generally, are not interested. Why should I bore them with stuff they cannot relate to, or dont particularly want to know?

Why am I saying this? Because I think the 'church' needs to completely re-assess its approach to evangelism and what evangelism really means.
Most 'churches' have an annual 'mission', others coerce the flock to evangelise daily, weekly, monthly, on rota, at every opportunity.

I dont think this is what Jesus intended.
Ibelieve Jesus intended 'lifestyle' evangelism. That is not where we preach at every one we meet each and every day. It is where we give an answer when we are asked. It is a product of the relationships we build with people in the course of our daily life. Hopefully we are an attractive letter to be read by others and that will lead to them asking us the reason for whatever it is they have noticed 'special' about us.

What we tend to forget is that it is Jesus, by the Holy Spirit that gives revelation of Himself. We do not give revelation! We cannot 'force' people, with threats, veiled or otherwise, of hell etc, to suddenly 'know' God. The press gang days should be long gone. Conversion is Gods work, in His time, in who He chooses.

There are some churches that put its members on guilt trips about evangelism. They say it is every christians duty to evangelise. Rubbish. It is every Christians duty to give an answer for the hope he has. It is the evangelists job, to evangelise - and the evangelist is one job of many in thye church.

Think about these things, get back to the Instruction Manual (the Bible) and see if I am right or wrong. Then do what God says, and be as God says, not man.

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Naturally, such an important doctrine will be attacked by the enemy of our faith, but,the Sword of God, His Word, defeats the lies of the enemy!!   It is only in the Word of God that we find Truth, so what does the word say?

This study provides a brief but indisputable overview of the verses showing our God is "three in one", the Triune God.

Verses saying Jesus is God:

Hebrews 1:8  God the Father called the Son "God."

Isaiah 9:6  The "child" is called the "Mighty God."

Matthew. 1:23, Isaiah 7:14  Jesus is called Immanuel, which means "God with us."

John. 1:1  Jesus (the "Word") is called "God."

1 Timothy 3:16  Paul said Jesus was God "manifested in the flesh."

Colossians 2:8.9  Paul said Jesus was the "fullness of the Godhead in bodily form.

John. 20:28  Thomas said to Jesus, "my God."

Titus 2:13  Paul called Jesus "the great God."

Philippians 2:5,6  Paul said Jesus didn?t feel it was wrong to be considered "equal with God."

John 5:18  The Jews wanted to kill Jesus because He was "making Himself equal with God."

John 10:30  Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."

Genesis 1:1,  Colossians 1:16 The Bible said God created all things and that Jesus created all things.

Micah 5:2  The messiah (Jesus) had always been in existence.

Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:2,8, 11,13  God claimed to be the "First and the Last." So did Jesus. God clearly states that He is the only saviour. The Bible also says Jesus is our saviour.

Verses saying the Father is God:

John. 8:41  "The only Father we have is God Himself."
Ephesians 4:6   "one God and Father of all "

Verses saying the Holy Spirit is God:

Acts 5:3,4   "you have lied to the Holy Spirit you have not lied to men, but to God."
Acts 28:25,26   Referring to Isaiah 6:9,10, Peter said the "Holy Spirit" spoke to the prophet Isaiah. In the book of Isaiah, it says the "Lord" spoke to the prophet Isaiah.
1 Corinthians 3:16   "Don't you know you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

Verses saying there is only one God:

Mark 12:32  "You are right in saying God is one and there is no other but him."
Mark 12:29  "The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
1 Timothy 2:5  "For there is one God ?"
1 Corinthians 8:4  "....and there is no God but one."
Galatians 3:20   "....but God is one."
James 2:19   "You believe there is one God. Good! "
Psalm 86:10   "....you alone are God."
Deuteronomy 6:4,5   "The Lord our God, the Lord is one ?"
Isaiah. 44:8   "Is there another God besides me?"
Isaiah 45:21   "There is no God apart from me ? there is none but me."
Isaiah 45:22  "For I am God and there is no other."
Isaiah 46:9  "I am God, and there is no other"
Isaiah 45:5  "I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."
Isaiah 45:18  "I am the Lord, and there is no other."
Malachi 2:10  "Did not one God create us?"

Understanding the concept of a 3-in-1 God can be difficult.  This is how I like to consider it.

We as humans are made up of 3 things. The first is flesh (our flesh and bones), the second is emotion and the third is spritual. These three parts make us who we are.

The trinity too is made up of 3 things, God who is like our spiritual side, Jesus who is like our flesh and the Holy Spirit who is like our emotional side.

Considering it this way it was all clear to me.

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Communicators with God in Prayer
Many folk would be offended if I suggested that a large proportion of our prayers were just so much hot air.  However, I am sure that the spiritually discerning would identify with having been in meetings, or even in our personal prayer lives, and we just know that some prayers are reaching no further than the ceiling.
I believe that on occasions God responds one of three ways to our prayers:
1)  He hears, acknowledges and appreciates the sentiments of the heart praying - but does not respond because whilst the prayer is well intentioned it is not according to His purposes.
2)  He hears and responds sending His angels to achieve His purposes according to our prayer.
3)  He refuses to even listen because of the motivation of the heart praying.
However, I believe that a good proportion of our prayer is not actually heard by God because it is rubbish.  We talk and talk, pray and pray, sometimes even stamp our feet, but have we sought God's will and purpose in the situation (which is what we really need to do in order to pray in His Name)?
Prayer is not just verbalising our frustrations, feelings and desires, however noble and well-intentioned they may be.  Prayer is or should be, communication.  I could talk all day at my wife but there is no assurance she will hear because I am not communicating - I am simply talking.
I am astonished at the number of people who coming across a sick person immediately pray for their healing.  I am sure the Kingdom of God would be further advanced if people sought God and brought a rhema word to the situation to set the person free (or whatever it is God is choosing to do with them.)

Communicators with God in worship
Precisely the same applies to our praise and worship.  How often do we just stand there on a Sunday morning and simply sing the songs?  That is not communication to God!  The words of many of the songs do not lend themselves to communication with God anyway.  They are usually either about God, or directed towards the congregation (from the congregation).
We cannot sing a song a song to God about Himself.  We sing a song of love and adoration.  Personally I make the words fit what I want to communicate.  If the song says 'Jesus is the radiance' then I change the words to 'You are the radiance' and I am then expressing my heart of love and adoration to God.
The modern disciple loves to worship.
They love to be in the presence of God.  They love to worship in spirit & truth.  Not just switching on a CD and singing along, but preparing their hearts.  In church meetings they are not looking at others to see what they are doing, or for their approval.  They are confident in expressing their hearts to God.

God's disciples are a prophetic people.
They not only know God but they hear God and know what he is saying.  I am not talking about some mystical voices from the ether, or other such nonsense.  I am talking about when God puts a thought in the mind, an urge to do something or say something in the heart.  They learn to discern whether they are hearing God, the impulses of their flesh, or the voice of the enemy, seeking to deceive.
When they pray they listen for God's will of what to pray in situations.  They listen for that 'still small voice'.  They listen to the stirrings of the Spirit of God, and they feel in their spirit when there prayers have reached the throne of God.
 
None superstitious
There is a rejection of all that is religious, including religious superstition.  There is acknowledgement that God's power is not in saying the words 'in the Name of Jesus', but in knowing God and His will.  There is no power in the words 'pleading the blood' but in knowing what Jesus has done and simply living in that.  A telephone number, credit card number or any other sort of numerical identification that begins with the numbers 666 is not a mark of the beast, or an identification of the work of the antichrist.  A picture of a pixie or any other mythical beast or being in my home does not infer my worship or  acknowledgement of them as reality - maybe they are just works of art!
 
Submissive
Dogmatism is one of the most divisive tools of either Satan or the flesh (or both) in the Kingdom of God.  There are those who would claim this or that or something else.  They speak with arrogance and pride - because only God makes rules and as can be seen in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles God does things anyway He chooses.  How dare we presume any doctrine other than a very basic 'faith in Jesus the rule for salvation'.
We cannot presume to be right - just because God has done one thing with you gives you no right to expect Him to do the same thing with another.
Are you willing to be wrong? As we step along this new road of discipleship we are having to re-learn much of what we have learned to date - we will make mistakes - but must be prepared to be honest with another, submit to one another, and see the power in that submission.
 
Disciples are Real People
God's disciples are real people.  They are not triumphalistic, claiming all is good when it is falling apart at the seams.  Claiming victory when the reality is quite the opposite and obvious to all.  They do not claim healing where there is no proof of it, under the guise of, it has been done in heavenly realms.  They do not quote scriptures and preach at non-believers when the message of God is not made real in their own lives.  They are real.  They struggle.  They cry and hurt.  They fail.  But in all these things, they acknowledge God, His faithfulness and His grace and mercy and their need for Him.
 
Men of faith.
Disciples are men of faith.  Admittedly, sometimes struggling.  But they express faith in their lives.  They express faith in every area of their life.  They are not Sunday Christians, there faith is living and active, and eager to serve not only the church but those God brings them into contact with.
 
Uncircumcised
Not literally I hasten to add - but in the Galatians sense of the use of the word.  Disciples do not allow themselves to be held in bondage by expectations.  They have found freedom in Christ to be who they are in God.   They do not need to hold to feasts and festivals.  They do not have to read Galatians because it is on their calendar to be read this week.  They are free to read whatever they choose, or the Spirit of God leads them to.
They are not legalistic - they reject expectations in favour of being led by Spirit of God - willing to reject control and not control others.
 
I hope you have found this helpful.

Do you know people like I have described above?  If so bless them, they serve you!

Are you called to this sort of life of freedom and service?  If so bless God and seek Him for your next step!

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Who are disciples then?
God is moving in His Church and has been for a number of years in power and love. People have been touched by the Holy Spirit and brought into new realms of freedom.
They have pressed on further realising that the release God brought was for some greater purpose, and are now seeking to know more of God and His purposes for them. But more than that, they have come to see a degree of hollowness within existing church structures.
They are rejecting all the presumptive and religious nonsense that so often characterises the church and are once more seeking God's pattern for church.
One important factor of this discipleship that God is calling people to is, that it is not a new denomination, nor is it a new grouping of people who have left existing churches to create a new one. These disciples are individuals, possibly many of them don't even know of one another, all within existing churches, which is where God is telling them to stay and serve and build His kingdom. There are probably only 1 or 2,
or 5 or 6 couples in each of the physical churches, but they will be the nucleus that God will use to touch His people.
They are not recognised by their popularity, and could even be noticed by their unpopularity, as they are frequently considered a bit OTT, only because they put God first. To distinguish them from the religious and over-zealous, in accordance with the character God is building into them, if challenged, they will not answer back as they recognise the futility of words and fruitless argument.
One has either been called, or one has not.
Disciples are men and women who can give no explanation for what they now are, how they got there, or where they are going (other than heavenwards), all they do know is that, God is.

to be continued......

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Likewise amongst the members of the wider family of God.  They are exactly where God wants them to be.  He has brought them as far as they have come - who am I to complain because we view things differently or are at different places in Him.

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I was remembering from my days when I subscribed to AOL and used to frequent their christian chat room.

It was a room where there was an awful lot of antagonism and verbal violence and it had the reputation of being the worst room within the AOL community by the guides.

The cause of the majority of the problems? Would you believe, the christians?

I always found the pagans the best behaved and the most respectful.

The non-believers were a foul mouthed lot and were second worst, and way down the worst chart were the Jews and the Muslims.

But it was the christians who were worst. Instead of ignoring the antagonism and baiting they ALWAYS rose to it!
Instead of just giving an answer to what they were asked and letting their yes be yes and their no be know they ALWAYS had to be right and prove they were right.

The Bible says we are letters to be read by the unbeliever, heaven knows what impression the unbelievers got of the christians in that room.

I also noticed that some of the christians were very shallow in their faith despite having been believers for many years. They didnt know why they believed what they believed, and couldnt give answers that explained stuff in a real way. They quoted worn out and often meaningless cliches.

Being a christian requires hard work and dedication to 'the faith'. In Acts chapter 16 the Bereans were commended because they heard what the preachers and teachers said, and then went and checked it out for themselves. Today (and for the last 30 years that I have been a christian) people sit in their pews and chairs, hear what is preached and taught, and automatically believe it and quote it. THAT is not building faith!!
Faith building is checking it out, studying the subject to some degree and then believing when fully convinced.
And then being open to being mistaken!!

The arrogance of many christians is displayed in their dogmatism. They do not allow for learning more, or better ways. They think they have it all, and their attitudes and behaviour can damage others.

I recently 'dumped' on of my blogland 'friends' because all they ever did was preach at me (and their other readers) and didnt share ideas, teachings and fellowship. As far as they were concerned it was only what they said that mattered. I have another 'friend' doing the same thing at the moment and they will go the same way if they do not show signs of reading and listening to others.

Calling all christians - what letter are you presenting to non-believers?

Are you attractive to others? or are you giving christians a bad name?

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I went to college for a number of years and came out with a certificate.  It actually took me the whole of my life to gain that
certificate because without all the years of learning and experience of life I could not have earned it.

The Christian life is no different.

Why do I put such a heavy burden of expectation upon myself to expect to learn of spiritual matters virtually overnight? 
God is enjoying teaching me, He is committed to teaching me - He understands me - why do I burden myself so?

He is not disappointed in where I am at - He brought me here!! He has brought me to the place where He wants me - and He does know where I am.

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They are 2 things which we as Christians need to have to come through trials and temptations;

1.  Faith;  to be believe that at the end of our troubles we will be stronger spiritually than we were before it began;.  Faith to believe that God is with us every step of the way through our trouble and that He never gives up on us.

2.  Patience;  to walk the rough road that lies ahead of us regardless of what it may bring; we also need the patience to wait for God to direct us and lead us out of rough road.

When things start to get to us (and this could be anything from our children, our spouse, or jobs, just everyday stuff) we can not only put up with them but can have victory over them if we have faith and patience.

In the 2nd verse we read that we should try to be joyful when trials come. 
Why?
When we finally come through the trial / temptation, whatever it may be, if we are clinging to Him with faith and are waiting on Him to direct us with all the patience that we have, we grow spiritually !!

Spiritual growth is an essential part of a Christians life.  When we grow spiritually we are growing more like Jesus in character and personality, to the Glory of God, and that means that we are working harder than ever to do His will.

So when trials and temptations come don't be discouraged.  Just do God's Will and grow, and be joyful because He is giving us a chance to grow.  Don't be sad and gloomy because you are in a trial.  Let the world see you smile and they will see Jesus in that smile and they will know He is real and that He is always there for us to help us and guide us. Praise God !!

However, we are real people, with real emotions, and He understand that.  he understands we have down periods, and depressions, and anxieties.  The important thing is that in the midst of these human emotions, we look for Him, and wait for Him to lift us up and rescue us.

In the 4th verse He is telling us that if we are patient,  doing His will, trying to live right, that He makes us complete, lacking for nothing.

What a Mighty and Wonderful Saviour that we serve !!

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The Lord is both big enough and mighty enough to save me. He is committed to my success and happiness. He really does like me, enjoys being with me and is mightily please with me.

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The Lord will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and for evermore.

God is totally and eternally committed to my well being. HALLELUJAH!!

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The implication is that if a good and all powerful God exists then He should stop all evil in the world.

Let us first define evil. To the questioner it is hurting others, either emotionally or physically. It is behaviour that is depraved or wicked. Some common examples would be murder, rape, child abuse, stealing or lying.

Now lets decide whether we want God to stop all evil or just some of it?

If we say, well just some of it then people would still question "Why is there evil in the world?".

Now lets say that God is sitting in heaven and he sees that someone is about to commit a murder. God would have to stop him. He might interfere somehow to distract him or he might have give him a sudden heart attack or something.

And if someone was going to steal from someone's house? God would have to stop that burglar/thief too.

Someone telling lies would have to be stopped too.

Now, lets suppose some thought evil. Wouldnt God have to step in then too, because it is from our thoughts that our deeds arise?

The situation then is that no one is allowed the freedom to think for themselves. We would then be programmed to be only good.

So, as you read this, you are saying to yourself, well this is silly now. Well, no it isnt. God has to be consistent. At what level does God allow evil to exist? Murder? Stealing? Thinking?

Evil is in this world because mankind, you and me, allow it to be.

Couldnt God just make us all perfect.?
He did. In the beginning he made a perfect world, he rested on the seventh day and looked and His creation and said "It is good".

Within that creation was a perfect angel called Satan, who sinned and turned against God. he made a perfect man called Adam and a perfect woman called Eve. They both sinned.

God never intended foe evil to reign. but since it does He will use it for His purposes and bring good from it.

How so?
Well consider Jesus. He suffered at the hands of evil men who murdered him and made him suffer on the Cross.

Yet God has used that evil and brought good from it.

It was on the cross that Jesus died for OUR evil so that God can forgive us. (This is a whole different subject and will no doubt be dealt with in a separate article).

Consider the example of Joseph in the Old Testament. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. Though they meant it for evil, God used it for good (Genesis 50:20).

God is so great that nothing happens that doesn't fit into His bigger and wider plans for mankind, you and me.

In His plan He is able to use for good what man intends for evil. God is in control.

God made us for a purpose, a purpose we don't fully know or understand, but He does.

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Let  us consider the second question I posed. Jesus tells us that He wants His joy made complete in us (John 15:11). Not just a little bit of merriment, but a joy that is complete, absolute, total, full and abundant.  Overflowing joy that leaves no room for more, and certainly leaves no room for the more negative emotions we tend to suffer with.
Despite the difficulties that may be involved in the Christian walk of life, this IS how He would have have us be. He would never tell us to do anything that we are not able to do.......therefore it must be possible.

Another question I suggested that we should ask ourselves was in regard to the witness we present to non-believers. Whenever people go shopping, whether it be in a supermarket for food, or at a garage for a car, they invariably buy those that are most attractively packaged.
Foods in bright colourful packets or tins with colourful labels, cars that have shiny  paintwork and chrome.

The 'church' has, for such a long time, been packaged in so many different hues of matt black and grey and has been totally unappealing that men and women who have sought the Truth, who have been seeking to satisfy that yearning in their souls for enlightenment and spiritual satisfaction,  have drifted into cults and the occult because they have been more attractively packaged.

The Krishna's have offered their promises of love, peace and harmony, the Jehovah's Witnesses offer their promise of salvation (of some form or other) for all, and the various occultic organisations offer promises of power over people and circumstances.

What has the 'true' Christian  'church', manifest through many varied denominations and church groups, been able to offer? Boredom, jealousy and back-biting, variable 'Truths', powerless lives, fatalism?

The most potentially appealing, attractive, 'value for money' church (the true church of Jesus Christ), has failed miserably at marketing itself and what it really has to offer those who need (and would willingly accept) it most.

IDENTIFY THE BLOCKAGES
Any blockages of sin, negative hang-ups, demonization (not necessarily possession), or the like will not permit a free flow of the Spirit of God in our lives.  These hang-ups, or whatever is causing the blockage, act like a dam, holding back the flow of Living Water.
Whilst we can, with increasing difficulty, maintain our relationship with Jesus, blockages need to be swept away and dealt with.
It is sometimes possible to just ignore or forget depressions. We may attempt to gloss over our dryness, and that is a favourite ploy of the deceiver, but it is important we deal with root causes.

Walking in the light, in this context, is allowing Christ's joy to be made complete in us, not hiding under a veneer of falsity, but allowing our weaknesses to be dealt with according to the loving counsel and work of the Holy Spirit.

Human pride is probably one of the biggest obstacles to rooting out these blockages. we need to come to the place of revelation that we have nothing of ourselves that is worth anything in the Kingdom of God, ALL our attributes must be from God, including our joy.
Rather than face the pain of exposing our true selves we are sometimes tempted to fake what is missing.  However, we cannot fake pure joy, the fruit of victorious living.  A false, or manufactured veil of 'joy', however well intentioned,  will be noticed by any discerning person.

We will also discover,  that those we witness to, thanks to the work of those opposed to man's salvation, will also know that we are putting on a front, wearing a mask. 

The pain of change and demolition of our pride is well worth the end result.  The whole purpose of living victoriously is that we might be pure and holy channels through which Christ can exercise His authority and move in great power.

IT IS NOT JESUS'S FAULT!!
We cannot claim that because the joy we should be expressing is of Christ then it is He who is to blame if it is not evident.
God has promised to answer every prayer made in the Name and will of Jesus, and there are two commands in particular that we have been given that we should pray to be fulfilled in our lives.

We know (as they were commands to us) that they must be within the will of our Lord, and that He will answer.  If they fail to be manifest in us, is God wrong?
Those commands are;
    1..Be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
    2..Be joyful always. (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
If we find that these commands are not being manifest or becoming a reality in our lives, then there must be something that is robbing us of the blessings that are rightly ours, in Christ.

Whatever is causing these prayers to not be answered must be exposed.  The lack of answer is never Jesus's fault, so they must be dealt with.  Trying to lay blame and fault at someone's doorstep is a manifestation of pride and should be resisted. Humility and seeking prayerful help from Spirit filled Christians will bring about deliverance.
If pride is allowed to manifest itself in bitterness, 'blame laying' and resistance, then the gradual but inevitable result will be a falling away from a potential life of faith and victory to a life of depression, defeat, and regret.  I doubt if there is anybody who really wants such a negative life-style, so we must overcome our natural anxiety, diffidence and fears, and set about identifying the difficulty we face, and dealing with it.

DEALING WITH THE ENEMY
 When we realise that something has come between ourselves and God, and we discover that answers to prayer are not being received, we need to discover why. We must declare war on our enemy, the Devil (but let's not blame him for the weakness of our flesh).  It is only he that wants to separate us from God.
There is only one person who would want to be a stumbling block to us in our faith, and we must declare the authority which Christ has given us, for the ground on which we stand.
We must bind the works, schemes and devices of the enemy, and then start, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to sort things out in our life.
A one man army does not last very long on the battlefield under the onslaught of legions of enemy troops.  We must join with others, stand as part of a great and mighty army, allowing others to support us and stand in the breach for us when we are weak.
The process of identifying blockages and unblocking them can then begin.  The result is that we are pure channels for the Lord to speak and move through, and a recipient of many answered prayers and blessings.

We are not playing spiritual mind games, nor is this an exercise in spiritual / philosophical / theological / intellectual gymnastics.  We must declare war and mean business, and come to the realisation that this is reality!!!

Lack of joy, spiritual dryness, depression, whatever form it is being manifest in, has many different causes. Prayerful and positive meditation and counsel will reveal these.

In seeking to identify difficulties we need to protect ourselves with the Blood of Jesus so we will not be led astray nor will the enemy cause us to see problems where in actual fact there are none.
There is no shame in discovering something wrong. The only time it becomes a problem is when we refuse to put matters right.

BUILDING AN ARMY
  It is important that we get our lives straightened out because Christ is building His Church. It will be an army that will be holy, disciplined and dedicated. In these times He wants to strengthen and unite us, so  that, in His power we can resist the works of the enemy and stand for what is right.
Our loving Father wants to equip us so that we can resist apostasy and all manner of devilish devices that would seek to detract us from the Way.

He will build an army whose light will shine brightly, with nothing marring the purity of that light.  We cannot fight if we are laden down by spiritual sickness and depression, and if we want to be a part of that army we need to be willing to actively pursue godliness, self-discipline and submission to His purposes.

Let us not forget that Christ is coming again, and when He does I want to be sure that my light is shining brightly, not darkened by sin drawn  by my  concern  with worldly matters.

Nor do I want my light to go out because I am so taken up by the worries of the world.

When I meet my Lord and stand before Almighty God I don't want to have to say,"well sorry God, but I could never get going, I always felt so lethargic and under attack".

I want to be able to confidently state "This is what I did Lord and this is what Jesus did" and have Him say to me, "Well done my good and faithful servant, enter my rest and and enjoy your reward!!".

WHAT DO YOU WANT HIM TO SAY TO YOU???

The rest of this book highlights some of the problems I have  witnessed in churches and hopefully wise counsel to bring wholeness and revival.
Please read it without casting judgement, as you judge so you will be judged, but read it for insight into into your situation. Remember, the person who sees the faults everywhere else - is blind!!

This is the end of this series for now. 
More articles from My book A Happy Church in Christ? will follow in future.  In the meantime do check back as new articles on various subjects will appear here daily

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My feelings and commitment may fluctuate, my faith levels may rise and fall, my faithfulness may waver - despite this God's love and commitment to me never changes.

He could never love me more than He does at any given moment regardless of how I am feeling.

He is always faithful, always loving and always committed to me.

Thank you.

(Just a little note to the men - this is how we men are supposed to love our wife)

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It is a glorious Name we own and our lives should reflect that Glory.

To use an old cliche, we should be the happiest people on earth.  Life should be exciting, full of joy and gladness, if for no other reason than Jesus loves us!!

This is not the only reason though, there are many hundreds of them to be found in the Bible in the form of God's promises to us. Yes, we have great cause to be a rejoicing people, rejoicing not only in the good times but also in the difficulties that we face.

I do not want to give anybody cause for thinking that life should be a bed of roses for a Christian.  Nor is life ever going to be one big merry-go-round of fun and exuberant joy.   The Bible has promised us many problems and difficulties.  We are also promised a wealth of experience that will serve to mature and teach us.

However, the Bible also promise to show us the way to deal with all of our trials and temptations. There is no situation that we can face that we cannot receive wisdom on from God's Word.
We were not promised that it would be easy, but we are promised that, the overcomer is rewarded with the crown of life, and Jesus desires us all to be overcomers, not overcome.

He does'nt even want us battered or bruised. He wants us overcoming all that stands in our way.

If it be a mountain then we are tell it to move. If it is the enemy then we are to trample it underfoot.  If it is the flesh then we are to crucify it.

Part of the secret to harvesting the fruit I spoke of earlier is finding, as Paul did, contentment in all situations. Regardless of what adverse circumstances we find ourselves in, if we can maintain our peace and naturally walk close to God each day, then we will discover the truth of being able to rejoice in all things.

As we find ourselves increasingly able to submit to all that God desires of us then we will find the secret of being content in all situations.

Sound simplistic?  Well it is!!  Why on earth do we have to complicate a simple gospel with 'ifs' and 'buts' and 'maybes'?  We should not walk around as mindless morons, but we allow our intellect to overcome our faith far too often. 
Believing the gospel truths, we will find ourselves naturally rejoicing and being content with 'our lot', then we will find peace residing in our hearts and minds, we will find joy in all we do, we will find love unsullied by anxiety and self-concern. We will discover blessings flowing, we will find grace and power.

We can look at Peter's situation when in jail. He didn't worry, or get upset, or dwell in self-pity.  No, he praised God, the door was opened, and he saw the fruit of his lifestyle in the jailer finding salvation.

We see Paul in his imprisonment. He continued to be content in where he was, he continued to minister to the churches he was overseeing, and along the way he saw great fruit from his lifestyle.

Whether we find ourselves in difficulties or on a 'high', whether we are in seemingly great trouble or enjoying immense blessing, the Word of God does not change.

We all find it easy to be victorious and feel encouraged and blessed when things are going well but the word of God does not change when things are not looking quite so rosy. The promises are exactly the same. We are still saved by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus, we are still blessed, forgiven, regardless of how we may feel.  Yes, our sins are still forgiven, our names are still written in the Lambs Book of Life.   If for that reason alone, how can we help but exclaim joyfully,  HALLELUJAH!!!

CARING FOR THE BODY
One of the points I will make later is that we should stop being so insular. What I am going to say now does not contradict that, but rather enables us not to need to be inward looking. 

It is important that we care for the body. I occasionally get very severe headaches, a combination of eye strain and migraine.  Such is the severity of these headaches that all of my body is disabled.

It is much the same with the Body of Christ. If brothers and sisters are suffering then the whole body is suffering also.  The analogy in 1 Corinthians 12 is continued not just in having a role to fulfil, but in our wholeness.

If the pastor or minister of the church is equated to an arm (because he does much?) and that pastor is not active, then doesn't the whole church suffer?  In the spiritual realms though this analogy does not only apply to people in key 'up-front' roles. We all have a role in the spiritual realm (as well as in the physical) and if one is unable to fulfil their role then the whole body suffers.

Imagine, Isaiah wakes up one morning in a bad mood, things are going wrong, the King wants to kill him, he has no friends, he decides to have a depressed day, today he will dwell in self pity.  This then will be the day that Isaiah 42 will not be written - and the whole body, if this were true, from that time till now would have suffered.  The book of Isaiah would jump from Chapter 41 to 43 and we would have missed out on the rich blessing of Chapter 42.

When a part of the body is suffering then we should identify with that suffering. We should go out of our way to help them practically, pray with them, and counsel where we can.  It is not just them suffering but it is each one of us suffering, and whether it be spiritual, material or physical, our priority needs to be helping to alleviate that suffering.
Likewise, when we are suffering, the whole body is suffering in the spiritual realm.  Therefore it is also our responsibility not only to look after one another but also ourselves.

Human beings have a tendency, (probably because it is so destructive) to dwell in self pity.  As Christians though, we should be seeking to reject normal fleshly responses.  It is good practice to deliberately do the opposite to our initial response, in order to oppose demonic influences and lift ourselves out of the mess.
Some of us do like to wallow a little, not least of all me, but this only serves to affect the whole of the church.  If that self-pity was an ingrowing toe-nail, then if it were allowed to fester, and not be confronted and treated, then it would not be long before the whole foot and leg would be poisoned.
Let each one of us determine not to drag down the church with our self-pity, but to go on another step toward maturity.

SACRIFICE YOURSELF
We are encouraged, not only by command but also by the ultimate example, to love one another as Christ loved us (John 15:12). Just as He gave His all for us, just as He sacrificed His life for us, so should we sacrifice ourselves and give of ourselves in order to bless and release those who are in need.
Jesus came with the sole intention of releasing men and women from all sorts of sickness and oppression. He came to feed the hungry, and He came to show us how we can be free of the tyranny of the evil one.

One purpose of his releasing us was in order that we can enjoy His creation, and be active in freeing others from the same tyranny. The ultimate purpose being that we might all serve His purposes, and live in peace and harmony.

If we can learn to live as Christ intended then we will find that we will naturally attract those seeking the joy and contentment that we have. The Church will experience the greatest move of the Holy Spirit ever known.  This would not be the result of powerful preaching or persuasive words by skilled orators, it would be by the pure beauty of Christ expressed by His Body.
It would be a move of God brought about by effecting change in society through prayer, by the proclamation of God's prophetic word to individuals, and speaking godliness into ungodly situations.  More than anything else, it would be a revival brought about by the church moving in the Spirit of God in power, motivated by love, and changing society.

Exposing corruption and ungodly practises and thus releasing those held under and affected by such bondage, releasing the poor from their poverty, the sick from their sickness, the hungry from their hunger, will be key elements in bringing about a move of the Spirit which will not fade and pass away, but will firmly establish God's Kingdom here in a way previously not experienced.

DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM
Difficulties in living as God intended are not always connected with our situation, circumstances,  or some other 'third-party' cause. We should consider that we may in actual fact be the problem.

Maybe there is something in our attitudes or lifestyle that is causing us difficulty. There is absolutely no need (or gain) to get into a blame situation but we must each confront our situations.  Regardless of cause, if we recognise a lack of 'bubbling springs' in respect of joy, love, power, or any of the fruit of godliness, in our lives, then it is essential that we ask ourselves some very important questions and allow the answers to spur us on to seek the remedy.

The questions are obvious:
1..Why do we experience dryness and depression?

2..Are our lives really drab, dreary, dull, boring, and dissatisfying?  Or is this a manifestation of some spiritual inadequacy in our doctrine or our relationship with Jesus?

3..What sort of witness do we presenting to non-believers if we appear negative, defeated or depressed?

This article will be continued........

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BEING HAPPY IN CHRIST

Jesus has given us all we need to live joyful, victorious lives, and it was His intention that we should experience and enjoy an abundant harvest of good fruit. This fruit is not just in relation to the quality / quantity of converts we have, nor is it just in relation to the character of God (fruit of the Spirit) shining through our lives.

The harvest we reap is not from our works alone, but comes also a result of our lifestyle.  So what is this good fruit?  What should we be harvesting?

The fruit I refer to is of course love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, but also prosperity (not necessarily wealth!!), and blessedness, words that bring hope and encouragement and comfort etc.,  amongst others.
The Bible refer to us as 'bubbling springs in the desert', it is this fruit that is the 'bubbling' in the spring. This fruit is what should be unhindered by the pressures of life and  bursting forth wherever we flow.

As the Body of Christ though, we still do not seem to have grasped the freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ. It is this freedom in the Spirit of Jesus, freedom from human and religious legalism, religious regulations, and the imposition of expectations.  It is these freedoms that we can enjoy only in Jesus, and that brings such fruit as a natural result.

Expressing our own personal freedom from the depression and drudgery of a pointless and hopeless life, and other bondages, is essential if we are going to fulfil the great commission given us, and attract people into the Church.

The fields are very ripe for harvest, but it would appear that many of the workers, unfortunately, have taken a worldly perspective of current economic hardship, financial depression, and have joined in that recession!!

It is important that as the physical expression of Christ's body here on planet earth, we be moving in the power and love of God, and be living in faith that rises above worldly concerns and offers a real alternative to the suffering world. If we are not having an effect within society, then we are failing our one true purpose.  We must affect society in the realms of poverty and injustice, bringing release to the bound.

Whether denominational, traditionalist, radical, progressive, 'house-church' movementist, or some other expression of the Body of Christ, there seems to be a drought as far as 'bubbling springs in deserts' is concerned. I speak of these 'bubbling springs' of course as the fruit we should be manifesting, love and joy, peace, prosperity, blessedness, power, etc..

The downtrodden in society need us to bring release to them. It is they that need healing, loving, blessing, prospering, and releasing, but until we experience 'bubbling springs' within our own lives it will not splash out and affect the world. If we do not experience it in our life how can we pass it on?

WHY NO 'BUBBLING SPRINGS'?

Why is it that within the church we do not seem able to live consistently in the fullness of joy, love, and power, that is our privilege in Christ?
For some of us, our experience of the joy and peace claimed and enjoyed in Christ is not our 'lifestyle'.
Our walk in the power of God, if we are honest, is quite often only exercised at the whim of God, when He particularly wants to bless another.  Our walk in the love of God (meaning a practical outworking love), is frequently dependent upon how we 'feel' (about our lives and self) unless, again we are particularly stirred by God for His purposes.

Our walk in the joy of God, again, is dependent upon us.  Are we satisfied? Have we been blessed?
If we are honest, many of us lean on the joy and experience of others to bring us into a joyful and encouraged place with God. Whilst I acknowledge this is a part of body ministry, it should be the exception not the rule.

I am not saying that all power, love, and joy, within every part of the Body of Christ is expressed in this negative manner.   What I am saying is that we can take the initiative in living a lifestyle that is seeking God in all our situations and circumstances. There is no need for dramatics and public display, for meetings with (or without) high profile or 'name' speakers, for God to move and exercise power.

Neither is it necessary to wait for Him to bring a particular need literally to our doorsteps.  If we are walking in the fruitful lifestyle that Jesus set us the pattern of then we will see needs all around us that WE can minister to.

For many of us, our experience of dynamic divine character expressed within us is interspersed with bouts of extreme depressions and crises.
Some of us still struggle with the old philosophy that to be good Christians we are not permitted to enjoy life and have fun. Even today, many years into the charismatic renewal and the new dynamic moving of the Holy Spirit, there appears to be an attitude amongst some that says that we must find our cross in order to be burdened by it, or we must find the thorn that will be a real pain in the.... side.

Quite often one can still get strange looks if one enjoys some light relief. It is as if suffering, misery and boredom are necessary, maybe as a sign of piety, in order to 'earn' our way into the Kingdom of God.

There is also still much evidence that within some churches there is still no knowledge of the freedom and benefits that are held for Christians in the Kingdom of God.  There is little knowledge generally about cutting off from ties of the past and hereditary problems.  Little is practiced in regard to prayer, and blessing, and speaking positively into another's life.

This is not a word of condemnation against denominations that have not moved on with the Spirit of God, rather, as I will explain later, it is a comment reflecting upon those of us who would claim to 'know better', or have 'it'.

Regardless of the reasons for our condition of suffering, or lack of fulness (however it is manifest), we must face up to our responsibilities as Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.
We must ask ourselves, and answer truthfully, without seeking excuses or justification, questions that are important to God.

How much does our manifestation of spiritual dryness, expressing itself as 'depression', rate as one reason why the church within the U.K. has had little impact within society as a whole?
Is the lack of positive evidence and the negative witness of our lives alienating people from the salvation and release that is rightly theirs?

Are we prepared to accept responsibility for shortcomings in this respect?

We must be willing to respond, with repentance where appropriate,  for not having dealt adequately with existing problems. We must be disciplined and make a determined resolution to encourage others, and above all else, work out our own difficulties.

Being a Christian need not, and should not, be a gloomy or morbid way of life. Nor should we have to make excuses for a God who doesn't seem to move where there is poverty, sickness or injustice.

Christianity is not a sombre or powerless religion or philosophy. Neither need it be a life of penance and suffering.

The reality is, that if we have a genuine relationship with Jesus, if he is truly our Lord and Saviour, then our lives should be quite the opposite. Depression and drudgery should be as alien and repugnant as swearing or violence.

As we walk day by day, we should be seeing His power at work in the people that we meet, and their circumstances, as we bring the Kingdom of God into their lives.

THIS ARTICLE IS TO BE CONTINUED.........

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The Bible teaches that we can be united, indeed we MUST be, because it's when we reach unity in the faith that He will come again. (Ephesians 4:13)

So, with such diverse practises and beliefs, how we can be united?

There are four essential doctrines that MUST be believed in order to own the name of Christian.  All other teachings and doctrines are a matter of personal belief/preference.

We can be united on these four doctrines, and respect, each others rights to other beliefs and practices, as each of us is answerable to God individually.

Because we do not worship in the same way does not mean we are right, or they are wrong, or vice versa.  It means we are different.  Praise God for differences and diversity.

My personal belief is that none of us are 100% right, but I believe all expressions of the Christian faith have something to offer each other, if we can only be open minded and less spiritually/denominationally proud.

OK - back to the four beliefs that we are united upon. The Bible itself reveals those doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith. They are
1) the Deity of Christ,
2) Salvation by Grace,
3) Resurrection of Christ, and
4) the gospel.

These are the teachings (doctrines) the Bible says are necessary. Though there are many other important teachings, these four are the only ones that are declared in the bible to be essential.
A non-christian, or a member of a cult will deny one or more of these essential teachings.

The Deity of Christ
Jesus is God in the flesh (John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14 also John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Phillipians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:8

1 John 4:2-3 "This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

John 1:1,14 the Word was God and the Word became flesh.

1 John 4:2-3 is saying that if you deny that Jesus is God in flesh then you are of the spirit of Antichrist.

John 8:24 "I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins."

Jesus should be the target of our faith.  Faith alone is not enough alone.  Faith is only as good as what it is put in.  You must place your faith in the right target.  Cults have false objects of faith; usually people who as leaders are still living, or inanimate objects; their faith is wasted no matter how sincere they are.

If you put your faith in a vacuum cleaner, then you will be in a lot of trouble on the day of judgment.  You might have great faith, but so what? It is in something that can't save you.

The teaching of the deity of Christ includes:
The Trinity - There is one God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  They are all God (not Gods).

Monotheism - There is only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8).

The Hypostatic Union - That Jesus is both God and man.

The sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ - The sacrifice of Christ is completely sufficient to pay for the sins of the world

As God - Jesus must be God in order to offer a sacrifice of sufficient worth to redeem (save) mankind.

Jesus had to die for the sins of all mankind (1 John 2:2). Only God could do that.

As man - Jesus must be man in order to be able to be a sacrifice for man.

As a man He can be the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

Salvation by Grace

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

"You who are trying to be justified by law (keeping to strict rules and regulations) have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:4).

These verses and their context plainly teach that if you believe that you are saved by faith and works (including obedience to rules) then you are not saved at all. This is a common error in the cults. Because they have a false Jesus, they have a false teaching of salvation. (Read Romans 3-5 and Galatians 3-5 ).

You cannot add to the work of God. Galatians 2:21 says, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" (Romans 3:20).
"However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

"Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law" (Galatians 3:21).

The Resurrection of Christ

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:14). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17).
To deny the physical resurrection is to deny Jesus' work, sacrifice, and our resurrection.
These verses clearly state that if you say that Jesus did not rise from the dead then your faith is useless.

The Gospel
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!" Galatians 1:8-9.

These verses from Galatians are a state quite clearly that you must believe the gospel. The gospel message is: that Jesus is God in flesh, who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and freely gives the gift of eternal life to those who believe.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us what the gospel is: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures". Within these verses are the essentials: Christ is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Salvation is received by faith (John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10, therefore it is by grace; and the resurrection is mentioned in verse 4. Therefore, this gospel message automatically includes the essentials.

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