May 20 2013
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Prayer, Bible, Faith, Church, Heaven, history, Religion, Jesus, leadership, Holy Spirit, Healing, Christianity, Demons, prophecy, Theology, Elijah, Worship, Evangelism

Fire carriers – Rachel Hickson at the Message Prayer day

rachel_hickson_800 copy

What are Fire Carriers?

People who carry presence, passion and power

Lk 3:16
We are meant to be baptised with the Holy Spirit and with fire! Fire and water mix in God’s economy.

Stay wet – monastic
And on fire – mission

When dry people carry fire it’s dangerous.

But we get wet and put our feet on Britain’s dry ground.
Isaiah 44:3
This is not just for us, it’s for our descendents.

Wet people burn!

If we are dry and we burn we get burnt out. Some people are scary for all the wrong reasons. So stay wet in the presence of God
1 Kings 18:33-38
The prophets of Baal were the new spirituality.
They set up a dry altar. Prayed to the God of fire.

Elijah says – wet it again and again. Let the water overflow. It’s seriously wet! Because you have serious challenges and God wants to put some serious fire on you. Fire that touches you touches everything around you.
Are you a fire carrier?

It’s great to touch the dry ground – but we have to be wet first.

Ps 42:2
Are you thirsty?!

Where can I go?! Ever feel that?

Acts 3:19
Change your mind and priority. Think different!
Be far more determined to be close to Jesus.

Don’t look at who you are – you can’t even preach one sermon without Him!

God has a call on you and he wants you to hit the mark. The designation on your life is different to anyone else’s.

Have a time of refreshing!

Dt 28:12
Let the rain fall – open up heaven I’ve me!

2. God wants you to be Passionate People

You will make friends, and others will hate your passion.
Nothing great was ever accomplished with Passion.

The Enemy wants to silence true passion.
Passion is irritating. It causes a response. Others get their status quo threatened and want us to calm down. Like the crowd in Mk10:48 – who tried to calm Bartimaeus’ shout.

What’s the cry in you?
The Jesus shout!

Acts 4 – here was a passionate church. And a passionate church is usually a persecuted church. History tells us this. We think miracles are all we need. But look at Acts 4:16-20

Jesus is always the name they want to shut up and spread it. But Peter & John say ‘We have a Passion for that name!’

You carry a heavenly virus
It lives on dead people
Those who have died to our name
And come alive to his name.

There will never be an innoculation that works against this virus.

Jer 20:9
There’s a fire inside you. When we yet to hold it in, we get weary. Our weariness comes because we stopped letting Jesus out. We are Jesus people.

Don’t run out of steam
Don’t lose the main thing!

3. Be Power Carriers

Isaiah 8:18
We are for signs and wonders in the land!
Let signs & wonders be the children, the twins we walk around with.

Signs and wonders are extraordinary events that make people Wonder about God!

So many people need that key of hope to unlock the gates.

Mk 16:17-18
We are to change atmospheres!
To set people free from whatever torments them.

Be people of Presence. Passion and Power to make a difference.

May 19 2013
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Eric Delve at Ivy Manchester

Grace has become a theological abstract that we argue about. Grace is basically the generosity of God wanting to bless you.
Don’t live in the kingdom of grace AND fear. ‘God has to love me, but really I deserve to be punished.’
Sin is nothing compared to the power of grace. The vast majority of us though are not perfect. So what do we do with those who mess up? One act of grace deals with it all!
So you really ARE forgiven.
And if we really got that – we’d be a lot easier on ourselves and everyone else. If we get the abundance of grace, then we can REIGN in life. When sin abounds, grace hyper-abounds.
Sin is like dog poo on your shoe!
No point ignoring it, it will start to stink and everyone around you will notice. Imagine you have that shoe under Victoria Falls.
That’s hyper abounding grace. So because of that – we are FREE!
When we say to ourselves we are not worthy it’s because we have an idol not God. Because the real God. Rom 3:23
All of sinned & fall short of the glory of God.
Who / what defines the glory of God?
Jesus!
Jesus is perfect theology
If it isn’t true of Jesus, it isn’t true of God.
He is the very image of God!
The problem is not the list of sins, but the nature of sin in you and me.

As far as God is concerned we should all be as good as Jesus. We tell people ‘You are a sinner!’

But we should be saying ‘We are all in the same boat!’
Nobody’s perfect!
Actually – one man was.
Only one.
Everyone else is substandard!

Read 2 Cor 4:4f
But the Holy Spirit has come to restore us to function, to change you to be radiant with the nature of God for eternity. Starting now
You don’t have to die to start.
At least not physically.
The good news is that God is revealed perfectly in Christ
When we die, he is waiting. No fear. We have got this all wrong. Our dying thought should be – I’m going to see Jesus! It’s the best!

The good news is the good news of the glory of the blessed God. Look up glory in the NT. It’s in there a lot!

We were made to reflect the glory of God. Uniquely.
Did you know every diamond is different and reflects and refracts light differently That’s how he has made us.

CS Lewis said, if we could see each other now as we will be then, we would bow down & worship each other

Because God is brilliant
And we will reflect his brilliance forever.
To and through each other!
And that is why Jesus thought we were worth dying for
It’s what we were made for.

2 Cor 3:16f

Moses veiled the glory- we don’t have to!
Only through Christ, the anointed one, the veil is taken away. We now surpass normality. We live FREE!
We have been brought into a covenant filled with life! Not a life of rules & regulations. Now we behold his glory
And are changed
From glory to glory and then we die
And become more and glorious!

Eph 1:12
Now who we ARE – is to the praise of his glory.

Col 1:27
We have been promised there is a means by which this is possible. You are a saint!
CHRIST in you- the hope of glory!

So start enjoying him.

May 14 2013
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Bible, Christianity, dreams, Faith, Heaven, Jesus, Prayer, REVIVAL, Worship

Dream Of A Coming Revival

Anyone who knows my wife Zoe well will know over the years she has a great prophetic gift in dreams, really insightful and occasionally scary! The wonderful thing is how they come true in detail. It’s no exaggeration to say that every major move in our life has been foretold in a dream she’s documented.

So the other night she had a dream – about a move of GOD that’s coming our way. This ties in with an increasing excitement I have been feeling, many reporting a palpable sense of the presence of God last Sunday in our service at Kingsway, a number of miraculous answers to prayer here at Ivy recently, one of our sites (the new one at Ivy Sharston) getting over 100 new people turn up last week; and reports from various sites I’m connected to of outpourings in various churches (especially that at my friend Richard Taylor’s church in Wales). It seems the spiritual temperature is being turned up! 

Here’s Zoe’s dream, from her notes. The bits in brackets are my explanatory notes.

I was with a few others (women friends/prayer partners) were in an upstairs room – when a storm was coming up outside. I told someone there how bad it looked but they weren’t at all worried by the storm (this was one of the friends who’s a mighty woman of God who has lived through revival when she was in Brazil). 


 

The sea was swelling and then a huge, enormous wave came up, not like a tidal wave – instead it was like the whole of the sea, came flooding in with tremendous force.

 wave

It flooded everywhere below us. The house shook but still my friend was not phased by it at all. 

 

When all went quiet I went and looked outside. Everywhere looked beautiful, as though the wave had washed everything and made it brighter. The shore was clean, not trashed like you’d expect after a storm.

 

I asked the person with me to cut my fringe so I could see properly. 


 

We went down to the shore which was now full of fishing boats laden with fish. An abundance! Fish of all shapes and sizes. I’d never seen so many or such variety before it was amazing.

 

There were so many that the cost of food went down and even the poor could eat well.

 

Also beautiful creatures came out of the sea, including sea lions. I showed others there that the sea lions were friendly/tame, even though they tried to bite their teeth did not puncture my skin. I held and cared for a ragged brown one.

 

Others helped at other boats, because there were so many fish. Some of the boats had landed sharks in them but no one seemed to be afraid.

 

I asked if Kohl my Grandson would see this and was told, “Yes he will – and he’ll see even more!”

 

 

Zoe says, ‘My interpretation is…

 

There’s a move of God coming that will come with all the force and power of heaven. This is not just going to crash in one area but to sweep over a vast area.

 

It will come shaking ministries. God is very much in control of it.

 

It will cleanse our land, renewing and refreshing it.

 

The Holy Spirit will clean the dirty and remove the rubbish from people’s lives.

 

Thousands will be saved, people of all different backgrounds, races, colours and creeds.

 

Cutting my hair so I can see better is obvious. (Anthony’s note; hair in dreams is often a sign of knowledge or wisdom, so here human ‘knowledge’ can get in the way of spiritual revelation).

 

The poor will eat well – obvious too!

 

God’s people will not be afraid of the creatures that bite (spiritual attack? People who seem far away from God we’re scared of?).

 

We will nurture all those who come to Christ and encourage them in all compassion and humility.

 

People that were seen as dangerous and the enemy, including many criminals and drug dealers etc. will be ‘caught’ too – and born again.

 

What do you think? I’ve never had such a hard time trying to post a blog post on WordPress. Someone doesn’t want us to get too EXCITED! Are you ready for the MOVE? Spread the word!

Let’s pray – ‘Lord, send the wave!’

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Apr 30 2013
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Bill Hybels – Muddle Of The Middle

Bill Hybels – GLS: The Muddle Of The Middle

He has talked before about Moving People from Here to There

You’re a leader to move people toward a preferred future.
Don’t just focus on THERE
FIRST build the reasons why we can’t stay HERE
Then people are ready to move THERE.

So, along the journey from here to there – when is the vision most vulnerable?

In the MIDDLE.
When you’re half way there, that’s when you can get real problems.

You haven’t got the impetus of the start off, and you can’t see the finish line.

God has to carry us through the tough times in the middle.

So – be very careful in the middle. The middle of your ministry life is the toughest part.
Don’t you want to finish?
To finish as strong as can be?
To leave everything stronger than when you started.

Remember what a privilege it is to be a leader.
Yes there’s a price to pay. BUT…
We are among the privileged few in all the world. Thanks be to God.
It is all gift.
Have you thanked God recently? For what He gives us to do.
Step back and say thank you!
That you’re not just an onlooker or a bench sitter. You’re a leader.
Enjoy every day you get to lead – because it will be over in a blink.

Apr 23 2013
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Successful Succession

Bill Hybels on Succession

The person who helped him think through the tough questions around this asked -

Do you ever see yourself dying?

The death rate is 100%

Do you see yourself being Senior Pastor till your last day?

Or when you’re walking slow and drooling? 

PLANNING PHASE

Every important matter to do with this needs to be asked.

Who decides?

How long will they have approximately

What role will the pastor have afterwards

How will their contribution be honoured?

PHASE 2

Is there an internal successor?

Give this a time frame.

If not..

PHASE 3

External successor

PHASE 4

18 months transition to new person.

 

This is a GOOD process! It gives security to the church.  But it’s tough on the pastor and needs to be handled with great sensitivity. Don’t assign a person with low Emotional Intelligence to handle it!

 

Some senior pastors hang on too long. Leave a great legacy! Trust God to guide you on the journey. Set the church up to be stronger as you go.

 

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Apr 14 2013
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David Shearman at Ivy Manchester

The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Let your mind be controlled -
Not by your mind
Not by your emotions
Not by your body
By the Spirit

Cultivate the presence of God in your life. Be filled with Him. Recognise that each of us was born to be a presence carrier. You are incomplete without that.

How do we engage in prayer? For our families? There are some great prayers in the Bible. Prayer is a conversation
But it’s also about listening
Prophecy comes from listening
It comes from what you hear.
If you stand long enough you’ll see more, if you listen long enough you’ll hear more. Otherwise you just give people out of your intellect.

When was the last time when something swept over you and you knew that you were loved?

Prayer is about knowing and being known.

God is committed to making this life better and easier with Him than without Him. The word is near you – in your mouth.

2 Kings – Elisha
The road to anointing:
Gilgal – where he shed the past
Bethel – house of blessing
Jericho – place of past victories
Jordan – the lowest place/humility
You are not fully human until you stop being self reliant! We can’t do Wilderness – where we get the double portion

Chapter 8:3-6
Gods miracle timing. In walks the woman at just the right time. Haven’t you got ‘just as’ moments?

The more you pray, the more coincidences happen.

She had made a room there for him. Chapter 4
When tragedy strikes and all her hopes and dreams are dead on the bed. What do you do in a moment like that? The tough stuff of life. The prophet asks
Is everything alright
And she says
Everything is alright

The circumstances may be this and that
But
Everything is alright

It looks too late
Everything is alright

She persists
Vs 32.
Elisha was carrying the presence of God. We have no idea what he prayed. Urgently. Death had come! The boy got warm
He wrestled in prayer
Then he got on the bed and prayed once more.
Eyes on eyes
Mouth on mouth
Body on body
Easter was not a resuscitation it was a resurrection!

Will you commit to pray great prayers?

See the same things
Speak the same things
Do the same things

Apr 10 2013
Bible, Christianity, Church, Diamond Geezers, Evangelism, Faith, Family, Father God, Friends, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Manchester, Men, Message Trust, Prayer, stress.

The most tragic verse in the Bible?

I believe that this Saturday, God is going to do something supernatural in the lives of the men who come to the Diamond Geezers Day here in Manchester, releasing our potential for supernatural greatness.

If you’ll come along to the Message building and connect to God’s presence there, hearing His Word and doing what He says, I believe that God is going to raise up from the day some spiritual leaders to make a massive difference in this world. And the reality is that this is so important because there’s a huge shortage of godly men in our nation. In the church men too many men have relegated themselves into passivity, or fallen to compromise and shame.

One of the most tragic verses in the Bible is Ezekiel 22:30:

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it…

God said:

I looked for a man like that…

How many did He find? The Bible tells us:

...but I found none.

NONE. Zilch. Not one; not one man who’d stand in the gap! Perhaps if God were speaking that verse today, He’d say:

‘I’m looking for a man with guts, integrity and commitment. I’m looking for a man who will use the strength I give him to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves; I’m looking for a man to impart spiritual truth to the next generation. I’m looking for a man who would stand in the gap.’

If that’s you (or you want it to be) please book in now and join us at the Diamond Geezers Day on Saturday. It’s not too late there are still spaces. There are various great speakers and activities, lunch thrown in with the very low price, the very first opportunity to buy my Diamond Geezers audio book (at a special price) and various freebies to equip you to make a difference where you are, standing in the gap!

Book in here http://www.message.org.uk/shop/diamond-geezers-mens-day/

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Apr 09 2013
Bible, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Jesus, Manchester, Prayer, Religion, wisdom, Worship

SOW MORE SEED – BILL HYBELS

From DVD of Willow Creek GLS last year – watched with staff team today.

Parable of talents. – Luke 8

Despite how bountifully the seed is sown (the good news of God’s love). Some people reject it- but don’t get discouraged. Some of it will land on good soil, too.

The maths of this is amazing for the seed rejection ratio – he says there’s a 75% rejection rate.

But then look at the maths of the tree that represents someone who says yes and has their life changed.  How much is produced by a transformed life.

We want to see more trees!

So – what must I do?

PLANT MORE SEED!

To overcome the rejection maths. Don’t just complain about the rejection rate!

Plant different kinds of seed.

We have to sow a lot more seed in our communities.

Alpha Course

Just Walk Across The Room

Experiment!!

You will see more trees.

Leader – this depends on you. The church takes its cues from you. One of the fundamental requirements of a leader is to learn, experiment and stay curious. So entropy will not occur on your watch.  Become incessant tinkerers. Keep thinking how to do it better.

Change your middle name to BETTER.

Become better.

You’d better!

And inspire everyone around you to get better.

Because trees are worth it!

 

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Apr 07 2013
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The Great Commission is fulfilled by the Great Commandment. Alan Taylor at Ivy MCR

We love to see growth. Watch a toddler getting more words, more movement.
And it’s great to see people grow more open to go from ‘no gods’ to ‘Yes to God.’ We want to grow
Spiritual growth
Matt 28
Context – Matthew is about Jesus’ life and ministry – his call to follow went out as he brought the Kingdom near. And he has given us this Great commission – to continue his ministry.

Ivy Fallowfield went out for 40 days between 11pm through to 1am! 40 days of blessing. Handed out promises of God to students. One said ‘I received one already and disagree with it.’
Why?
Because my life has no purpose or meaning.
What’s your purpose?
Look at Jesus’ last words
This is his will
It’s a living will – what Jesus wants to do with his body!

What is a disciple?
A learner.
Someone learning to do what Jesus does.
Our educational system doesn’t set us up well for that kind of learning. We revise and do exams, we try to pass.
But this isn’t about getting more knowledge
Are you an apprentice?
Learning on the job
Are you learning to do what Jesus did.

Bruce Lee. ‘I fear not the man who has learned 10,000 kicks – but the man who has practised one kick, 10,000 times.’

Never mind what we are learning. What are we practising?

Jesus said we are to obey His commandments.
Our culture hates the O word.
That obedience is restrictive
But obedience is actually incredibly liberating!

Jesus’ relationship with God (obedience) is what he wants to give to us too. It’s obedience in relationship.
Obey what?
Jesus sums it up and embodies the great commandment for us.
Get this one thing right – practice it:
Love God (who loved you first) and
Love people! Love your neighbour as yourself- put others needs first. Church can be a great place to learn to live like that.

Great question – is your heart getting harder or softer these days? Are you more compassionate? Or getting more angry? We are learning…

How are we learning?
When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit remained on Him. Then he said ‘its going to be better for you now the Spirit can come..’ So Jesus says
REMEMBER – he is with us.
Do you remember?
He is there – to remind you of what God is saying.
Trying to learn to follow Jesus without getting in community with others is like a fish learning to swim… Out of water!
Learning to live like Jesus is something we do together, not in theory but in practice!

Alan once turned up at Uni to the wrong exam because he trusted someone who told him wrong.

Let’s not get to the ‘end of the age’ and find we were following all kinds of wrong advice, and what we thought was being success- is totally wrong.

Where are you now?
He’s with you.
Always.
Say ‘Hi’ and talk to Him.

Apr 06 2013
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Christianity, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, Jesus, Manchester, Prayer, Religion, Theology

Why the Great Commission has stopped me ‘Evangelising’ and ‘Discipling’ people.

Matt 28:16 So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus here is sending people out to tell people about Him. To be witnesses for him. WITNESSES. Unfortunately, this whole ‘witnessing/evangelism’ idea can become about formulas, or something that makes people feel guilty because they’re not good at. They don’t like the idea of handing out leaflets out in the street or going door to door. If that IS your thing great, but a lot of people rule themselves out because they think witnessing has been turned into processes of mithering people. Or trying to argue.

I saw a status on Facebook that read ‘”I will now become a Christian on the basis of your arguments and dogmatic presentation of key doctrines.’ Said nobody, ever.”

And I know people who’d say they follow Jesus 100% but… they don’t know enough Bible or enough answers to all the clever objections people come out with, and they don’t want people to think they’re arrogant so they think they’d better not get involved either. But that’s not how this started.  From that day on the mountain till now, it’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know.

By the way, that means it’s not being arrogant either, because Christians DO have knowledge that most people don’t have, but it’s a different kind of knowledge. It’s not ‘I know something you don’t know.’ It’s SOMEONE. Because of Easter Sunday, because of Jesus being ALIVE – it’s a person you’ve met. And you have the dignity to share that you know Him.

I tried to sum this up in a tweet this week and just about squeezed it into 140 characters. Because of the resurrection, evangelism isn’t convincing someone of something you know, it’s introducing someone you know wants to meet them. 

Now literally, Jesus says. ‘Therefore, GOING – make disciples…’ We have made it a command, so people feel guilty and might do it. You have to say it in a dramatic deep voice.‘Therefore GO!’

But it’s not a command. It’s the present participle to be technical, like ‘As you go…’ Like it’s the most natural thing in the world. ‘As you go, make disciples.’ That’ll be the natural spin off from people interacting with you. Because Jesus is with you always as you go. But we somehow made this natural thing a list of techniques to get stressed out about or Bible passages to memorise, to make CONVERTS. Jesus didn’t ever say make converts. He says ‘make DISCIPLES.’

What does that mean?  Disciples?

l plates

LEARNER.

That’s all it means. Whenever you see the word disciple in the Bible, you could translate it straight as ‘Learner.’ They had the L plates on.

Jesus sent them out into the world, with L plates on. What a responsibility he put in their hands! Jesus had written no books, built no organisation; there were no physical buildings they owned, no monuments left to commemorate Him. He entirely placed the future of His earthly work in the hands of His disciples. His LEARNERS. He had no other plan. He HAS no other plan!

While I’m shooting sacred cows –  I’m disturbed that the church has made DISCIPLING a new kind of industry in the last 5 years or so. Jesus came to make profound things simple and the church always does the opposite of that.

Everyone’s doing conferences or writing books with plans and formulas to ‘disciple’ people. As if it’s a verb – not a noun.

He disciples him, she disciples her – we all get in these little groups where this person knows more than this person; so I get to disciple you or to be discipled by him or her. And the extreme end of it is where someone gets to feel very important and wise for being ‘a discipler,’ while someone else – the disciplee, gets controlled.

I’ve read many of those books and been to the conferences. Of course there’s good stuff in it too, and it’s a reaction to laissez faire methods which meant people didn’t mature in faith. But something still makes me a bit uneasy. Because I don’t think lots of what they write about there, has little to do with what Jesus was talking about here.

I had a great chat the other day with someone who was asking about whether I should be their ‘covering’ – and we ended up agreeing that’s probably Jesus’ job. All authority has been given to HIM after all. He’s the head. We’re all the body.

The creeping danger is we end up becoming or gathering or making disciples of MEN rather than disciples of Jesus. Because like evangelism and a lot of other things we’ve made ‘discipling’ seem very complicated. It’s not really.

Christianity isn’t complicated! It’s not EASY, but it’s not complicated.

These notes form part of my talk for tomorrow morning at Ivy Manchester (Kingsway). I’ll be more constructive than this – promise. There’s probably just enough here to get some people annoyed enough to download the full talk which will be available on our website next week. http://www.ivymanchester.org/podcasts

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