New website, new blog!

We've got a new website - same address, but with a completely new look! As part of this upgrade, our blog has moved from being externally hosted by Google’s Blogger platform, to full integration with the new WordPress-powered site. However, this old blog will still be online and act as an archive for old posts, so if you ever want to go back and read previous posts, you still can.

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Revival - Part 13: Tthe 1859 Revival in Wales

The Revival had its beginnings in Cardiganshire in 1858 with the preaching of Humphrey Jones and David Morgan, but the two men differed in their views of revival. Jones applied the methods he had learned from Finney in America, believing that revival would come if certain practices were followed, but Morgan on the other hand believed revival to be a sovereign work of God. They parted company in early 1859, Jones being disillusioned with the results of his ministry. David Morgan had prayed for many years for revival and in 1859 he experienced what he described as an anointing of the Spirit. One night Morgan had an extraordinary encounter with God, ‘I awoke at four in the morning, remembering everything of a religious nature that I had ever learnt or heard’. This soon became evident in his preaching. It was his practice to preach for about 30 minutes to be followed by a hymn. Then he would address unbelievers in a very direct manner urging them to believe in Christ. A fellow minister commented that there was nothing new in what was said but it was “the power of the Spirit by which it was anointed.” At the end of 1859 Morgan had another experience. He said, “I have been wrestling for the blessing and I have received it.”
A turning point in the revival occurred in Tregaron in Nov 1858 with Morgan (pictured right) praising God for evidence of ‘a rising cloud’, and earnestly beseeching God, ‘let the whole sky grow black’.The hymn following the sermon was repeated over and over and there were scenes of weeping and rejoicing. News spread throughout Wales and reports of many conversions followed thick and fast. One of the chief characteristics of the revival was prayer, both public and in families, and it was only rarely that preaching was omitted. In the meetings the presence of God was felt to be overwhelming and this increased as the revival went on. There was weeping over sin, and time and everyday matters seemed to be unimportant.
After 1860 David Morgan continued to preach in the Calvinistic Denomination, but he was never again to know the power that he had experienced in those two years. It is estimated that in the years 1859 to 1860 over 110,000 people were added to the churches in Wales. The churches were strengthened and the whole of society was affected for good. These years were wonderful times for the whole of the UK, and revival took place in England, Scotland and Ulster.

Star Gazing

The article in the daily newspaper caught my attention immediately; “Want to be more selfless? Try gazing at the stars” read the headline. It concerned some research carried out by a Dr. Piff of the University of California (I know – I nearly gave up when I read that, but stick with it!) which showed that when people looked at something amazing in the natural world, they became more considerate of others and altogether nicer. Those who were awe-inspired reacted more altruistically in a series of tests than those who weren’t. Interesting, that, isn’t it?
For those who know their Bibles of course, the research results shouldn’t come as a surprise. Whereas unbelievers look up their stars in the newspaper, for Christians, looking up at the stars of the heavens is a biblical discipline. Recently in our study of Galatians we reminded ourselves of that covenant-establishing moment recorded in Genesis 15 when God told Abraham to look at the night-time sky. According to Galatians 3, you and I are part of the fulfillment of that great promise.
A thousand years or more later, David was doing the same thing, and Psalm 8 was the result. If you have a Bible to hand, find the psalm and remind yourself of its glorious poetry. When David looked at the stars he recalled the amazing grandeur of God and his creative power. It led him to worship the God whose name is excellent in all the earth. It made him think too of how insignificant man was by comparison, and of how remarkable it was that God should care about him and even visit him with salvation. That too led him to praise God even more! As we look at the same stars three thousand years later, we should feel the same.
In Hebrews chapter 2, the writer quotes from Psalm 8, and leads us to the Lord Jesus Christ. He, of course, is the one who ‘flung stars into space’, carefully speaking them into their exact orbit on the fourth day of creation! Five little words in Genesis 1, “He made the stars also”, comprise the most astonishing understatement ever made! There are, we are told, 18 billion planets in our solar system alone! Even more remarkably, this same Lord Jesus chose to become man, to lay aside the presence and praise of angels and make Himself a little lower than the angels. Listen to verse 9 which tells us why; “But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”
However kind we are to others as a result of looking into the heavens, our life on this planet one day must come to an end. We have to face not space - the final frontier, but death - the final enemy. How can we do that with any hope? Only if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus who tasted death and conquered it! He died for the sins of his people, and rose again that they might have eternal life. Are you trusting in Him?

Falling Short (Lessons from Life)

A recent children’s talk by our pastor reminded me of my days as a student at the old Abersychan Mining and Technical Institute. The class had assembled and waited the arrival of our tutor, all restless and fidgety. After some delay the deputy head arrived to announce that as our tutor was sick, he would be taking the lesson. I do not remember what lesson we were to have had, but I did learn a lesson I never forgot.
Having taken up our exercise books, pencils and ruler we were instructed to draw a line two inches long!! With that the deputy head left the room. Whatever was he thinking of? After all technical drawing was on the curriculum, so we knew how to draw a straight line, didn’t we?
The task was swiftly accomplished, pencils put down, chaos reigned. Then, just before the lesson was due to close, the deputy head reappeared, silence fell as he said “Now measure the line you have drawn.” There was utter disbelief, “But sir,” spluttered one bright spark, “its two inches long, like you said,” “I know what I asked you to do” replied the deputy, “ now measure it again, but this time instead of laying the ruler flat on the paper, as you did to draw the line, turn the ruler onto its edge, and then measure the line.” “Now how long is the line you have drawn?” One measured one inch and fifteen sixteenths, another two and one sixteenths of an inch, another two and one eighth inches. Of twenty two students only two or three came anywhere near being correct. When the ruler had been carefully laid against the line drawn our careless and casual errors were revealed.
So also in our lives. Lives lived according to our ideas and thoughts always fall short of the ruler of God’s law. Romans 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Psalmist also reminds us there is none righteous no not one (Psalm 14:1-3).
However ROM 3:24 says we can know redemption and justification through faith in Jesus Christ. God setting a new standard in our lives. A new measure of true perfection, that is the fullness of Christ Himself ( Ephesians 4:11-13). This state is not arrived at overnight, but by the Spirit of the Lord we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Which measure or rule governs your life?

Revival - Part 12: Revivalism

The New School Theology, a modified form of Calvinism, developed in America in the latter half of the 18th century. One of its teachings was that man had not lost all ability to accept the Gospel but had only lost the desire. This led to the belief that anyone can be persuaded to believe given the right inducements. Preaching became an attempt to make the person want to be saved, to come to a decision at once, and to publicly make a profession of faith. Revivalism was the belief that revival could be created by use of the right means.
In the early 1800s open air camp meetings were held on the American frontier that were characterised by a highly charged atmosphere at which strange emotional and physical phenomena occurred. There were reports of falling, rolling, jerking and dancing. Many converts were claimed and each meeting was hailed as a mini revival. Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875, pictured right) believed that God had revealed the necessary conditions for the creation of revival and these he detailed in his book “Lectures on Revival”. Finney took the ethos of the camp meetings and started preaching at revival meetings in the North Eastern states. His preaching was aimed at putting pressure on the will of the people to make a decision, and to come to the anxious seat as a public profession of their new faith. The results at first were very encouraging with large numbers professing faith. However, Finney later admitted in “Lessons on Revival” that he had been too optimistic about the results, and that most of his converts were a disgrace.
Following Finney’s example the travelling evangelists emerged such as Sankey and Moody, Billy Sunday, and in our own times Billy Graham. Large crowds were assembled by means of mass advertising and each meeting was carefully planned and executed to bring about the required results. People were prepared by singing to hear the Gospel message, after which they were urged to come to the front and publicly profess their faith. Large numbers of converts have been claimed for these meetings, but they have proved to be only temporary.
Revivalism has been an attempt to create revival by what are mainly psychological means. It is true that genuine converts have been made, but in general the effects are short lived, and the influence on the community minimal.

Revival - Part 11: Daniel Rowland

Daniel Rowland was born in 1713 in the tiny village of Llangeitho, about 15 miles from Aberystwyth, to the Rev Daniel Rowland the rector of Llangeitho. In 1733 Daniel was ordained as curate to his older brother John who had succeeded his father as rector. He took up the ministry as a family tradition not through any particular conviction or calling and his preaching was unremarkable. He was converted in 1738 after listening to the preaching of Griffith Jones of Llanddewi Brefi, and his life and preaching dramatically changed. Quickly his name became known all over Wales and people started to flock to hear him. An eye witness said that," the impression on the hearts of people was that of awe and distress, as if they saw the end of the world drawing near and Hell ready to swallow them up". People walked to hear him from as far away as Anglesey, travelling in groups, hungry to hear God's Word. Crowds of up to 2500 gathered inside and outside of the church at times of Communion. This is all the more remarkable when it is considered that Llangeitho is in a sparsely populated area and that it took people many days to reach it on foot or on horseback. For 48 years Daniel Rowland preached with the same popularity and effectiveness in the same village.
However, when the opportunity arose he would preach elsewhere in the surrounding district, and this was to bring him into conflict with the church hierarchy who did not share his faith. When churches closed their doors to him then he took to the open air just as Whitefield and Wesley had been forced to do. To nourish the new converts, societies were established in areas throughout Wales and over 100 ministers regarded Rowland as their spiritual father. The worst enemies of our Lord were not found in the world but among the established religious leaders, and this has been true whenever men have arisen in the Church to preach the whole counsel of God. The local Bishop opposed Daniel Rowland, and on the death of his brother Daniel's son was appointed rector. It was thought that he could be more easily controlled as a curate to his own son. Then in 1763 he was ejected from his church, which did lasting damage to the reputation of the Anglican Church in Wales from which it has never fully recovered. It did not have the desired effect because Rowland's people built a new church and his ministry continued uninterrupted. He even continued to live in the same house with the permission of his son.
Daniel Rowland was acknowledged to be at least the equal of Whitefield as a preacher, and is thought by many to be the greatest to preach in the Welsh language. The following account is given by Christmas Evans, himself a great preacher. "Thus Rowland, having glanced at his notes as a matter of form would go on with his discourse in a calm and deliberate manner, speaking with a free and audible voice; but he would gradually become warmed to his subject, and at length his voice became so elevated and authoritative, that it resounded through the whole chapel. The effect on the people was wonderful; you could see nothing but smiles and tears running down the faces of all".
A humble man, Rowland refused many offers to move to other places that would have given him protection from his enemies and a wider influence. J.C Ryle summed up his life, "The ministry that exalts Christ most is the ministry which produces the most lasting effects. Never, perhaps, did any preacher exalt Christ more than Rowland did, and never did preacher leave behind him such deep and abiding marks in the isolated corner of the world where he laboured".

Revival - Part 9: John Wesley

John Wesley always referred to himself as a brand plucked out of the burning (Zec 3.2) after he was rescued from a disastrous fire that destroyed the rectory in Epworth in 1709. There John was born in 1703 the ninth child of a family of thirteen children. Educated at Lincoln College Oxford he was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church and appointed lecturer in Greek in 1726. Together with his younger brother Charles and some other friends he formed what became known as the Holy Club devoted to good works in and around Oxford. They quickly gained a reputation for piety and strictness of conduct and were called Methodists as a result.
Following the death of his father John went to America as a missionary to the Indians. He returned to England in 1730 after his failure as a missionary and an unhappy love affair. On board ship Wesley came into contact with some Moravians and he became troubled that he knew nothing of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He admitted that he had gone to convert the Indians while he himself was unsaved, and he saw that all his efforts to do good works were only establishing his own self-righteousness. He recounts his conversion in a prayer meeting in Aldersgate while listening to Luther's "Preface to Romans" on Wednesday May 24,1738." About a quarter to nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death".
From that time John Wesley devoted his boundless energy and talents to preaching the good news about his newly found saviour. Like Whitefield his preaching was not acceptable to many in the Anglican Church and so he took to open air preaching to reach the common people. Rising at 4.00am he preached at 5.00 to catch the working people. This continued for the next 52 years, when he travelled over 225,000 miles mostly on horseback, and preached more than 50,000 sermons. In the early years he faced much opposition and persecution from local clergymen and his life was often in danger from drunken mobs.
One is again struck by the sheer amount of work done by this great man of God. He produced grammars, histories, biographies, and a collection of hymns and tunes. "Leisure and I have taken leave of one another. I propose to be busy as long as I live. Lord let me not live to be useless". Wesley never intended to found a new denomination but was forced after 1748 to ordain his own men to be preachers. He never left the Anglican Church, and looked upon Methodism as a means of reviving the Church from within.
Many of us would find much to disagree with Wesley when we consider his teachings on Arminianism and holiness. Also his dealings with his former friend George Whitefield were not to his credit, but this merely goes to show that God uses imperfect instruments to do his work. When John Wesley died at the age of 88 the whole country had been revived and drawn back from the brink of civil war. He left 750 preachers and 77,968 Methodists in this country alone. His final words were, "The best of all, God is with us" and the first words of the hymn "I'll praise my maker while I've breath; And when my voice is lost in death; Praise shall employ my nobler powers".

Revival - Part 8: The 18th Century Awakening in England and Wales

In the early 18th century the country was becoming increasingly decadent. Drunkenness was rampant; gambling was so extensive that one historian described England as "one vast casino." Newborn children were left exposed in the streets; 97% of the infant poor in the workhouses died as children. Bear baiting and cock-fighting were accepted sports, and tickets were sold to public executions as to a theatre. The slave trade brought material gain to many while further degrading their souls. Unrest was general among the poorer classes and the conditions were ripe for rebellion.
As it was in the country so it was in the church. Bishop Berkeley wrote that, “Morality and religion in Britain has collapsed to a degree that was never known in any Christian country."
Sir William Blackstone visited the church of every major clergyman in London, but "did not hear a single discourse which had more Christianity in it than the writings of Cicero." In most sermons he heard, it would have been impossible to tell just from listening whether the preacher was a follower of Confucius, Mohammed, or Christ! A French visitor remarked that the English had no religion at all. JC Ryle later wrote that, “These times are the darkest that England has passed through in the last three hundred years”.
But cometh the hour cometh the men of God! Under the mighty preaching of the Gospel by George Whitfield, John Wesley and Daniel Rowlands, the whole country was revived for the remainder of the century.
Numerous agencies promoting Christian work arose as a result of the eighteenth century revival in England. Antislavery societies, prison reform groups, and relief agencies for the poor were started. Numerous missionary societies were formed; the Religious Tract Society was organized; and the British and Foreign Bible Society was established. Hospitals and schools multiplied. The revival cut across denominational lines and touched every class of society. England and Wales were transformed by the revival.
Many historians believe that the revival saved the country from a revolution such as took place in France at the end of the century. People’s minds were diverted from the ills of society to be concerned with more spiritual matters.
Our own day is one of spiritual and moral declension and it may seem to have gone too far to be reformed. But God has not changed, and He can revive our land again, as He has done in the past.

Revival - Part 7: Revival at the Kirk O’Shotts

A great crowd had gathered in the churchyard at Shotts near Edinburgh on June 2, 1630. A pale nervous young man of seventeen years of age made his way to the front and announced his text from Ezekiel 36:25and 26. The sermon continued in an unremarkable way for about one and a half hours and was coming to its conclusion when a shower of rain caused the people to put on their cloaks and seek any available shelter.
When the sermon was resumed there was a new note in the preacher's voice that now riveted the attention of the congregation. If a few drops of rain could cause such a commotion how much greater would be their discomfort, horror, and despair if God was to deal with them as they deserved. They deserved that God should rain fire and brimstone upon them as he had done on Sodom and Gomorrah. He then turned to the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ as a shelter from the wrath of God and pleaded with them to fly to him. So the sermon continued for about an hour.
That day five hundred people were saved and the surrounding district was revived in a remarkable and unexpected way.
At that time in Scotland communion was celebrated very infrequently and was regarded as a great occasion. In the days before the Sunday the people gathered from a wide area to listen to preaching and to prepare themselves to take part in the service. On this occasion it was decided to have a final preaching service on the following Monday which was quite unusual. A young man John Livingston was called upon but who only consented after much persuasion. He was at that time a chaplain to the Countess of Wigtown and was not yet ordained to the ministry. From his diary we learn of what happened before the service.
Much of the Sunday night was spent in prayer and preparation but when morning came he was so overwhelmed with feelings of unworthiness and weakness that he started to run away and was only drawn back by his conscience. The sermon that followed was never to be repeated in his life and by the following week all power had left him. When he preached at Irvine on the following Monday he felt so deserted that he was unable to get out the words that he had prepared. In despair he decided to give up preaching and was only dissuaded by the advice of some godly minister friends. He wrote in his diary, “So it pleased the Lord to counterbalance his dealings and to hide pride from man".
The revival at the Kirk O’ Shotts is an example of the sovereignty of God in revival. A previously ordinary man, from whom little was expected, was used on this one occasion to bring revival to God's people. This should give us expectancy that God can at any time use our faithful preachers to accomplish great things. Let us pray that we will know something of such occasions in our own days.

The Holy Spirit, Working in the World: John 16:5-15

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, whose work is indispensable to regenerate the sinner, to lead him to repentance, to give him faith in Christ, to sanctify the believer in his present life and fit him to enjoy fellowship with God. For spiritual power and effectiveness His ministry is essential to the individual Christian and to the Church.

Thus we affirm our belief in:-

1. The Person of the Holy Spirit
2. The work of the Spirit in Regeneration
3. The work of the Spirit in Sanctification
4. The work of the Spirit in Enabling, and Empowering for service

The Scriptural basis for that belief is found in John 14:16: 'I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.' This promise given to His disciples would make His imminent departure more bearable for, 'It is expedient (to your advantage) that I go away, for if I do not go away the Helper (comforter) will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you' (v7). In verse 8, Jesus outlines the work of the Spirit in the world, 'And when He is come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.'

Why will the Spirit do this? He will reprove or convict - 'Of sin, because they do not believe in me' (v9). Here we see the - essence of Sin - what Sin really is. What we commonly recognise as Sin - is in reality the outcome, the outworking of Sin. Lying, murder, stealing, adultery, arise - because we believe not. Adams sin lies not in the action taking and eating of forbidden fruit but in not believing a holy and righteous God.

The root of sin is - unbelief, this is why those who are morally upright yet outside of Christ, and the blatant sinner suffer the same condemnation. As Romans 3:23 says, 'All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God'. Verse 10 confirms, 'There is none righteous, no, not one.' The work of the spirit, is to convince the world, concerning this unbelief and to persuade men of the truth concerning Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the Son of God. That his death on the cross was an atoning once for all sacrifice for Sin. It was the conviction that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God that wrung from three thousand souls, at Pentecost the cry, 'Men and brethren what shall we do' (Acts 2:37). Christ's promise concerning the convicting power of the Spirit has been abundantly and gloriously fulfilled, and would continue to do so as the Church continued to grow. Man will not go to hell just because he is a sinner, but because he believes not the testimony of God concerning His Son, effectively calling God a liar. 'He that believeth not God, hath made him to be a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son' (1 John 5:10).

What is God’s record concerning His Son? Well as Jesus is baptised in the Jordan river at the commencement of His ministry the heavens open and a voice from heaven declares 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' (Matt 3:17). And again on the mount of transfiguration 'This is my beloved Son; hear Him' (Mark 9:7). Yet it was this beloved Son God gave to become the Saviour of the world 'God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life' (John 3:16).

We have already noted that the work of the Spirit is to convince the world, but more particularly the work of the Spirit is to convince you, for Salvation is a very personal work. How would you reply to the question - Do you believe on the Son of God? Remember the blind man Christ healed (John 9)? His reply to that question was, 'Who is he Lord that I might believe'. As Christ revealed himself to him, so he believe. Likewise notice Christ's reply when Peter confessed 'You are the Christ the Son of the living God'(Matt 16:16-17): '...flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you, but my Father, who is in heaven.'

Note, the Spirit having come from the Father now does the will of the Father even as Christ did the Fathers will. We see the Spirit at work in the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8). The Spirit led Philip to him. Then wanting to be baptised - he confessed 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' Evidently the Spirit is as much at work in the bringing of Philip as in the convincing of the Eunuch.

What about you? Has the Spirit been patiently leading and guiding, these many years, many times have you heard the story of Jesus - as a child - many times have you heard the Gospel message. Why did you attend church last Lord’s day? Is it a tradition - because you like the company - the singing. Why do you find it difficult to stay away? It is the blessed Holy Spirit of God tenderly wooing you, showing you your need of Christ. He has sought you for many years - to bring you into the fold of God. Through many difficult situations, with infinite love and patience - His mercy has brought you - to this day - to this hour to confront you once more with your need of a saviour.

Will you not yield to his gentle persuasion and confess Him today?

'Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more' (v10). The world accused Him of blasphemy (Matt 26:65), of consorting with sinners (Matt 9:11), and of breaking the Sabbath by healing woman crippled eighteen years (Luke 13:14); they despised the lowly carpenter of Nazareth. They vented their fury on the back of the Son of God. They nailed Him to a cross as a common felon, preferring the company of the murderer, Barabbas.

His righteousness would be revealed by His death and acceptance by God. A centurion at the cross was the first to acknowledge His righteousness as Jesus commended His spirit to the Father, 'Certainly this was a righteous man' (Luke 23:47). The Spirit is at work in a Gentile convincing him of the righteousness of the man upon the cross. At Pentecost, Peters asserts that Jesus had been raised by God, to His right hand, the Spirit convicted the crowd. Willing now to accept Him who they had previously rejected accepting Christ's righteousness on their behalf, to Salvation. If God had accepted Jesus, then surely Jesus must be righteous.

The work of the Spirit is to convince you not only Christ's righteousness but also that you have no righteousness of your own in which you may stand before a holy God as ISA 64:6 reminds us '... we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags’. Thus in order to stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God we need the aid of one who is righteous, and now stands in the presence of God. 'For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us' (Hebrews 9:24). Not only is he in the presence of God but he has been exalted and given a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. When you acknowledge his righteousness, calling upon Him for Salvation, confessing Him as Lord in your life, the Spirit has achieved His purpose in your life. 

'Of judgement, because the prince of this world is judged' (v11). Satan, was judged, and condemned at Calvary, because of this YOU also stand in the same condemnation, subject to the same final punishment. Here then is the final work for us to consider today. The soul that is persuaded of Gods final judgement for Sin and sinners is the soul that will fly to the cross for safety. The soul that fears the wrath of God - pleads his mercy - as David pleaded the - 'tender mercies' of God. When you come by the Spirit to realise that God IS just, the Son is righteous, that you need a saviour it is the same Spirit that bids you confess Christ as Lord. When we confess Him He will confess our name in the presence of God 'Whosoever - shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, who is in heaven' (Matt 10:32).

To those who love him, He has promised the same Spirit, to dwell within 'And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (John 14:16), - and he shall be in you.' v 17. 'He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in himself' (1 John 5:10). This great work of bringing mankind to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is the primary work of the Holy Spirit. Will you not yield to the Spirits patient wooing - today, for today is the day of salvation.

Back from the Dead

The death of Sir Terry Pratchett, author of many best-selling fantasy novels, was one of the most-reported stories of recent weeks. Whether or not you had read any of his books – I must admit I hadn’t – you are probably familiar with his face and seen him on television. That was because as well as being a novelist, he had, in his last years, become a well-known campaigner about the Alzheimer’s Disease which eventually took his life. After being diagnosed with the early onset of the disease, he also filmed a television programme about his experiences of suffering with it, and gave and raised a lot of money towards research relating to it.
 I was interested to read how different people responded to the event. Quoting from one of his books, after Pratchett's death, his assistant wrote from the official Terry Pratchett Twitter account: “At last, Sir Terry, we must walk together. Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under endless night. The End.” 
Perhaps you read too, about the fact that several of his fans began a petition which urged death to ‘bring back Terry Pratchett’. According to some press reports, over 5000 of his fans signed the online petition. The petition needless to say has been unsuccessful.
Death doesn’t ‘give people back’. That is why we rightly respect it and do so much to fight against it. There was a time, of course, when it had to give people back. When the Lord Jesus walked on earth we read of three cases where dead people did come back to life. A widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7), Jairus’s daughter in Capernaum (Matthew 9) and a man called Lazarus from a village called Bethany (John 11) all came back from the dead. This was not because death willingly gave them up, but because Someone more powerful than death overpowered it! He went on to prove that in His own life.
It’s Easter time again, and on Easter Day we will be remembering the Lord Jesus Christ, Victor over death and the grave. We will examine the overwhelming evidence for the truth of the resurrection and find it convincing! We will also rejoice in the great significance and meaning that the resurrection of the Saviour carries with it. The sacrifice for sin that He had made on the cross has been accepted by a holy God. We can know forgiveness, peace with God, and, what is more, eternal life as a result, because the resurrection of Christ means that the locked door of death has been opened from the inside. Heaven, shut to us because of our sin, can be ours through Him.
Look again at those final words on Sir Terry Pratchett’s twitter account. “Black desert … endless night … the End”. He never wrote anything more powerful or profound. But when the Risen Lord Jesus is real to us, dwelling in our hearts by faith, they could not be further from the truth. If we know Christ, death to us will be gain! We won’t go to endless night, but to eternal day! Death won’t be the end, but a new beginning that will never end! Do you have the hope of Easter Day?

Revival - Part 6: John Calvin

John Calvin was born in Noyen France and his father was Gerard Cauvin the secretary of the local diocese. He was educated in Paris and Orleans to be a lawyer but on his "sudden conversion" in 1533 he began to preach the new Reformed doctrines. When persecution broke out in France Calvin sought refuge in Basel. Calvin was asked by Farel to assist him in his work in Geneva where an attempt was made to establish a theocratic state, that is one in which God is the accepted supreme ruler. However, the city was not ready for such reforms and Calvin's enemies known as the Libertines forced him and Farel to be expelled in 1538. During his exile in Strasbourg Calvin married a converted Anabaptist. Recalled to Geneva in 1541 he continued to put into practice his ideas of the Godly society. He founded a College of Pastors and Doctors and a Court of Discipline to regulate the lives of the citizens. Gradually Calvin overcame the opposition of the Libertines and became virtual dictator in 1555.
A study of the lives of such men as Calvin can cause us to gasp at how much work they were able to get through. His great work "The Institutes" was worked on and revised over many years from 1536 to 1559. It is a systematic theology divided into four books.

1. God the creator.
2. God as Redeemer in Christ.
3. The way of grace in the Christian.
4. The Church.

Calvin's commentaries on most of the books of the Bible are still regarded as models by the best commentators. His approach is one that starts from a profound regard for the majesty of God and veneration for the Bible. He did not seek any novel explanations but sought to bring out the plain meaning of the text. Few were written in his study as such but were sermons and lessons that were recorded in shorthand by his secretary or students. Calvin with the other Reformers placed the sermon at the centre of worship, replacing the Catholic mass. He preached up to five sermons a week as well as teaching in the academy.
It is sometimes claimed that Calvin was not interested in missionary work but this is far from the truth. He sent preachers into France and his influence was felt all over Europe through the work of men such as John Knox who spent some time in Geneva. Calvin also sent missionaries to South America. In common with all of the Reformers Calvin was a man of his time and should not be judged by present day standards. His persecution of the Anabaptists and execution of Servetus cannot be condoned but need to be understood in the context of that time.
Calvin built on the foundation laid by Luther and his great contribution was to put the doctrines of the Reformation into a systematic form and to organise the worship and practice of the Church. Some of us today complain that there are too many meetings in the church. I wonder how we would have managed in Calvin's Geneva. There were two meetings on a Sunday with a children's service in between. There were also early morning meetings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when candles were provided for the people to see. Attendance was compulsory, enforced by civic officers, and all work stopped while the services were going on. Communion was celebrated four times a year and each person was visited by a minister and an elder to make sure that everyone who took communion was fit to do so.
Calvin and the other Reformers were not perfect but were men that God used to accomplish a great revival of true religion in Europe that has had a profound influence on the Church and Western Civilisation as we know it today. Let us continue to pray for our ministers of the Gospel, who will never be perfect in this life, that God will place in them the same spirit that animated Luther and John Calvin and that in our day we shall see the power of God reforming the Church and society.

Revival - Part 5: Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben in 1483 the son of a coal miner. He was educated in Efurt, graduating in 1505. He became a priest in the Catholic Church but a visit to Rome in 1510 opened his eyes to the true state of the Church, and from then on his life was spent in trying to reform it and to recapture the purity of the early Church.
As a professor of biblical exegesis - explaining the meaning of the Bible - Luther rediscovered some of the great doctrines that had for so long been neglected and contradicted by the traditions of the Church. He began to preach that salvation was by faith alone and was the gracious gift of God, and in 1517 he nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Church. The Reformation was beginning. Luther now went on to attack the whole Papal system accusing the Pope of pride and avarice. He contrasted the poverty and meekness of Christ with the splendour of the Papal Court. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to appear before the Diet of Worms- an assembly of rulers and dignitaries not the food of birds- but the Diet was divided as to what to do about him and he was allowed to leave. However, he was immediately arrested for his own protection and imprisoned in the Wartburg castle for about a year, during which time he started on his translation of the Bible which came to be regarded as a classic piece of German literature.
Luther married an ex- nun Katherina von Bora and they had six children. A man of enormous energy and charm he was also stubborn and uncompromising in discussion with the other Reformers and this was to split the Reformation. Endowed with a brilliant intellect his commentaries on the Bible are still available and can be read with profit. He also wrote many hymns for congregational singing such as his paraphrase of Psalm 46 "God is our refuge and strength", number 360 in Christian Hymns Luther did not set out to start a new church but to reform the corruptions of the Papal System. He retained much of the ritual of the Church and his version of the mass is in essence the same as that of the Catholic Church. He was also somehow able to reconcile the idea that children were saved by being baptised with the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. Luther's fear of anarchy made him side with the princes against the common people in the Peasant's War in 1524. This lost him much support and led to the steady passing of control of the Reformation into the hands of the secular authorities. Luther also persecuted godly men who believed that the Church should consist of those who had been saved by the grace of God, not all of those people living in a particular place. Whereas in some areas Luther may have not pushed reform far enough in others he could be too extreme. In his great battle to establish the doctrine of salvation by faith alone he devalued the place of good works in the life of the Christian and he derided the Letter of James as "an epistle of straw".
Martin Luther was undoubtedly a great man raised up by God to reform the Church, but he was only a man. His particular significance was in his ability to motivate men and to inspire the early struggle with the Church of Rome, but it was left to the genius of Calvin to place the Reformation on more sound theological foundations. In our own days the Lutheran Churches are mostly compromised by modernism and are drifting back into the arms of the Catholic Church.

Revival - Part 4: The Reformation

The Reformation which took place in the sixteenth century was the most significant event in the history of the Christian Church since the Day of Pentecost. It was called a reformation because the leaders, the Reformers, did not seek to introduce anything new but rather to purge the church of its corruption and return to the purity of the early church.
The period of preparation had been long and costly in terms of men's lives, and can be traced through the Waldenses and the Lollards down to Martin Luther. Many had come to deplore the worldliness of the Church with its obsession with money and secular power, particularly the sale of indulgences. According to the Roman Church, the soul on death went to Purgatory to be purified and made fit for Heaven, and early release from its torments could be obtained by purchasing an indulgence from the Pope. "When the coin in the coffer rings , the soul from Purgatory springs". Whenever the Pope was short of money the sale of indulgences was turned to as an easy source of income. Luther was incensed by the activities of Johann Tetzel who travelled throughout Europe selling these indulgences, much as nowadays we see articles being sold from stalls in an open air market. Luther asked why the Pope as a merciful man did not release all of the souls in Purgatory free of charge.
The Reformation can be said to have started on 31 October 1517 when Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Church. These challenged the accepted teachings of the Church and invited a debate on matters of faith and practice. From this time the Reformation spread quickly through the many small states that then made up Germany. To the godly it was an opportunity to preach the Gospel and reform a corrupt Church, but to many of the rulers it was the occasion to seize Church lands and property, and to shake off the power of the Holy Roman Emperor. Here is an example of God overruling the sinful plans of men for his own purposes, because the protection of the princes and nobility was to play a vital part in saving the Reformers from the persecution of the Church.
So much of what we take for granted in the Protestant Church today was recovered and established at the time of the Reformation. The great doctrines of the early Church became its very hallmark.

1. Justification by faith alone. The only way to be declared not guilty by God is by faith in JesusChrist. We cannot be saved by sacraments or by good works.
2. The Priesthood of all believers. The individual is in direct personal relationship with God, and every believer is a priest. Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father, not the Virgin Mary, or the saints, or the priesthood.
3. Sola Scriptura, The Bible Alone. The Bible is the only rule for the faith and practice of Christians, which rules out the traditions of men. It is the duty of every believer to read the Bible, and to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling.

Christendom was never to be the same again and the Protestant Church had been born, although it did not receive this name until later. The response of the Catholic Church was predictable and there followed times of great persecution and warfare, but nothing was able to stop the spread of the Reformation throughout Western Europe. Sadly, within a short space of time the Protestant Church started the process of fragmentation that still continues in our own time. The Church split into Lutheran and Reformed branches reflecting the particular emphases of Luther and Calvin respectively.
The Reformation was a mighty act of God to revive His Church, and we should be on our guard against those who would minimise its true significance in the hope of patching things up with the present Catholic Church. The precious truths that we hold dear were purchased with the blood of the martyrs, and we should pray that God in his mercy will once again reform all of our churches and raise up men of the calibre of Luther and Calvin.

Revival - Part 3: John Wycliffe and the Lollards

Christianity was introduced into Britain some time in the second century and maintained an attitude of robust independence toward the Roman Church. In 596 Augustine was sent from Rome together with 40 monks to convert the Anglo Saxons and to establish the authority of the Catholic Church. For almost a thousand years the gloom of the Dark Ages spread over Britain.
In about 1320 John Wycliffe was born in Yorkshire and became a popular teacher in Oxford. Having been introduced to the teachings of the Waldensians he set about correcting the abuses that he saw all around him in the church. He was a prolific writer and early on his denunciation of the role of the church as a temporal power made him powerful friends among the nobility. When Wycliffe proposed that the Church would be better off without pope or bishops his friends were able to protect him from the church who tried to bring him to trial as a heretic.
His early writings were in Latin which was normal for that time, but after about 1380 he began to write tracts in English for use among the common people. He then translated the Latin Bible into English for the first time and organised a body of preachers to travel the country with their hand written Bibles carrying the Gospel to the people. These" poor preachers" were scornfully derided as the Lollards – a Dutch term for mumblers.
In spite of persecution from the Church the work of the Lollards continued and true religion was revived in our land so that the country was prepared for the coming of the Reformation. The reading of the Bible in English was to arouse a longing among the people to possess a copy of the Scriptures in their own language. This became possible with the invention of the printing press, and when the New Testament, translated by William Tyndale, was printed in 1526, in spite of being banned, it sold in its thousands to rich and poor alike.
It is so difficult for us to imagine what life was like in the days of Wycliffe. Church services were conducted in Latin which was understood only by the well educated people. The Bible was not available in English and its possession was limited to the clergy. It was thought to be too dangerous to be read by ordinary people. Worship consisted of little more than attending the mass conducted in Latin.
Do we really appreciate our Bibles as much as we should? Its preservation down through the centuries, in spite of the efforts of men to suppress it or tamper with it, is an instance of God's providential goodness. It cost many good men their lives to bring us the Scriptures and we should remember them and thank God for them. I wonder how many of us would be prepared to die because we own a Bible.
If we in our day neglect God's word we will return to another dark age and how dark will that darkness be.

The Challenge of Lent – Preparing for Service (Part 2)

Last time we looked at the Old Testament basis for prayer and fasting and found a marked contrast with the common practices associated with Lent. We concluded that prayer and fasting is designed more to prepare us for service than for mere spiritual uplift, or as works. Some say the New Testament does not teach fasting, that the Lord's condemnation of the Pharisees fasting methods was in fact a rejection of fasting. This is not so, there is in the New Testament just as powerful a case to regard prayer and fasting as a necessary preparation for service. As we noted previously our primary role model is the Lord who prior to commencing His public ministry and service - to establish the kingdom of God - spent forty days & nights in fasting and prayer, and being tempted by Satan in the desert. MATT 4:1; MARK 1:12; LUKE 4:1.

We could also think of Paul who spent an unspecified time in the desert of Arabia before commencing his great missionary work.

What should be the motivation or driving force to observing Lent? Is it just to feel good, to achieve some kind of spiritual experience? Certainly not! We noted in the Old Testament God required Israel on the Day of Atonement to afflict your souls. It was God who commanded Moses to appear before Him with the imperative be there. What prompted Jesus to spend forty days & nights praying and fasting in the wilderness? This was no mere human decision, but the Spirit of God working sovereignly (Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1, and Mark 1:12 & 13) where we note - angels ministered to Him.

Matthew Mark and Luke use different words to describe the Spirits action.

          Luke has ηγετο - to lead to another place, e.g. to guide.
          Matthew has ανηχθη, - to lead or conduct away, e.g. a prisoner led into or from court.
          Mark has εκβαλλει, - to lead by force, impel. Often translated as ‘cast.’

Overall they combine to give a strong sense of compulsion. That compulsion is evident throughout Jesus ministry JOHN 4:4 He must needs go through Samaria. LUKE 9:51 ‘He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem’ (Matthew 16:21). Jesus began to show unto his disciples, that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer [...] and be killed, and the third day be raised up (Luke 4:43). Jesus said, 'I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God' (see Luke 13:33, 19:5, 22:37, and John 9:4).

Paul evidently felt the need to go to Arabia (Galatians 1:17) where it appears he had a great spiritual experience (2 Corinthians 12:2-4), although he does not say he was led there by the spirit, or that he prayed and fasted. However it is clear Paul did fast regularly, such as when acts of service were being initiated for example in Acts 13:2&3 when Barnabas and Saul were chosen as missionaries, and again at the appointment of elders in each church (Acts 14:23), not forgetting of course Paul's own calling (Acts 9:8).

None of these people entered lightly into periods of prayer and fasting. Nor should we. Lent, as preparation for service is a serious matter not to be entered into light-heartedly of casually. For implicitly we must emerge from such an exercise and impact upon society, if we do not, we must question our motives why we fasted and prayed in the first place. Was it merely to satisfy self, to follow the crowd, or were we compelled, driven by the Spirit. Those whom we have highlighted are those who were clearly called to be leaders. But every Christian, every child of God has been commissioned to proclaim the gospel to all men everywhere. So each of us have reason to seek a closer walk with God that our lives may more effectively witness for Him.

What was the mission or service? Jesus mission was to establish the kingdom of God on earth, and ultimately to die on the Cross in order that God's great redemptive plan may be fulfilled. Moses, was to lead a grumbling nation, and through the Law given at Sinai forge them into God’s own people. Paul’s mission was to spread the Word of God, to push the boundaries of the Church/kingdom of God to include all men. Our mission is no less, to proclaim salvation to those around us, wherever we are. To further the establishment of the kingdom of God by church planting as Paul did. To provide instruction in the Laws of God, building men up in the most holy faith that they in turn may be called to the service of the Master. For that we need the power that comes from time spent in the presence of God and in His word. When Moses met with God at Sinai his face shone, evidence that he had been in the presence of the glory of God. If Jesus, the Holy Son of God found it necessary to spend time in prayer and fasting, how much more necessary is it for us, weak and sinful as we are.

What will be the end result? The immediate result is twofold -

1. Increased opposition; as Jesus was tested by Satan so also shall we be tested (Matthew 4:2-11).
2. A dynamic Spirit of power LUKE 4:14,15. Enabling and endowing the Church for the task ahead.

Finally, WE, the Church, are the end result of our Saviour’s prayer and fasting. The Church or Kingdom of God on earth is evidence that God answered Jesus prayers and labours of love. When Jesus views His finished work on that great day, He will be satisfied. ISA 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: The prayer and fasting, the pain of His humanity and human suffering, the agony of the cross, separation from the Father - all will be considered worthwhile when those He has redeemed becomes His crown of Glory.

What about us? Will we have any sheaves to lay at His feet? Will there be anyone in heaven because I prayed, because I fasted, and because I witnessed. Lent, we conclude, is more than giving up this or that for a season, it is more than personal spiritual improvement, it is about preparation for service. Service led, inspired and empowered by the Spirit of God. Such preparation and service does result in personal spiritual improvement and spiritual enrichment. It is a time for sacrificing ourselves afresh as 'First fruits' unto God; Devoting more of our time and resources than previously we have done; Engaging more fully in the great commission; Serving the Lord and Him alone. How good it would be to see Lent become superfluous again as it was in the white hot passion of the early church where passionate Christian living was the norm. For that to happen, your life and my life needs to change - NOW. So let us, not only in the Lenten season, but always present ourselves before the Lord in prayer and fasting, seeking from Him the leading, the guidance, the enabling we need for our service in the task ahead.

Revival - Part 2: The Waldenses

The first thousand years or so of our Christian era in Europe are known as The Dark Ages. Roman civilisation had degenerated and under increasing pressure from the so called barbarians the legions had been withdrawn to defend Rome itself. In 395 AD the empire was divided with capitals at Constantinople and Rome. In 410 Rome was sacked by the Visigoths and fifty six years later the western empire was finally overthrown.
At the same time as the empire was collapsing the power and influence of the Church of Rome was increasing in western Europe, As the light of civilisation faded so did the light of the pure Gospel. In 324 Christianity was made the state religion of the empire. An event, many have argued, from which the Church has not yet recovered. As it developed as a secular power so the church departed from the true faith. Alongside the Bible grew up tradition to be placed on an equal footing with the Scriptures, and practices never known in the early church. The flame of true religion sputtered from time to time but Dark Ages is an apt description of the times. However, God has never been without his own witnesses and even in the darkest times there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Such was Peter Waldo a rich merchant of Lyons in France. In 1170 he gave his wealth to the poor and began preaching the Gospel of salvation and criticising the church of his day. He denounced the church leaders who lived lives of vice and luxury. He condemned the superstitions that had replaced the true worship of God. Most churches had some sacred relic claimed to be a piece of the cross, a hair from Jesus' beard, a drop of Mary's milk. Alongside Christ there were the saints and Mary claiming the attention of the worshippers and in the mass the bread and wine were claimed to change into the actual blood and body of Christ.
The authorities acted quickly to silence Peter but like his biblical namesake he preferred to obey God rather than men. In 1180 Peter Waldo and his followers were excommunicated and banished from Lyons. Threatened with death they fled to the safety of the mountains where they would keep a faithful witness to God for hundreds of years being known as the Waldenses. By the year 1260 over 800, 000 were worshipping in the secluded valleys of the Alps straddling the border between what is now France and Italy.
The Waldenses took the Bible as their only rule of faith and practice. They rejected all the additions made by the Roman Church. Worship was marked by simplicity in contrast to the elaborate ritual of the church. The Bible was read, the Lord's Prayer was recited, and a sermon was preached. For this they became the object of the hatred of the church and regular crusades were made against them as the enemies of God. In 1211 eighty Waldenses were burned as heretics in Strasbourg.

Preachers were sent out all over Europe and thousands were converted. This has been described as "the most remarkable missionary movement that has ever occurred". Among those influenced was John Wycliffe in England which was to have the most wonderful consequences for the Gospel in our country.
The story of how God preserved his people in the mountains against overwhelming odds is one of the most interesting and thrilling examples of how he looks after his loved ones. So the true Gospel lived on in small communities scattered in the deep alpine valleys until the time of the Reformation when it would burst out over the whole continent. In 1592 when a treaty was made with the churches of the region the Protestants outnumbered the Catholics by a hundred to one.
The history of the Waldenses shows that however dark the times may be and however small the remnant of true believers, that God can at any time raise up a man like Peter Waldo, revive his work, and protect his people.

The Challenge of Lent - Preparing for Service (Part 1)

The three churches in the Wiltshire village of Dilton Marsh where I was pastoring an Evangelical church, enjoyed regular fellowship as we met quarterly for prayer and bible study. Easter was approaching and it was my turn to bring a study at our pre-Easter fellowship which was to take place in the Anglican church. I felt the Spirit leading me to consider the practice of Lent. The following two part study is the result. Please read Exodus 34:10-35, Leviticus 16:29-31 & 23:27-32, and Numbers 29:7. Lent, is traditionally a time when people give up some of the luxuries of life in the pious hope of gaining some spiritual benefit. In the Church of Rome it is regarded as a time of penance, of forgiving others, a time of self-denial in favour of those in need thus it becomes works of mercy. Sadly Lent has become a ritualised precursor to Easter. But should it be like this?

Well for the more spiritually minded it is period of self-denial, fasting and prayer for a period of 40 days leading up to Easter. A time for reflection, for remembering our baptismal promises; a time to rededicate our lives to Christ and His cause, anew. It is a time for contemplation on the temptations of Jesus and His fasting in the desert over a period of 40 days and nights. A time when we are to afflict our souls (Leviticus 16:29) or put to death the flesh 'For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death (mortify) the deeds of the body, you will live.' (Romans 8:13) as we seek to live a more holy life. But is that all?

First we must ask, why was Lent instituted?

Lent was instituted by the Early church fathers Circa 345 AD - because the primitive church did not retain its perfection unbroken - it’s apostolic fervour declined post Pentecost, and that rapidly. The case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) shows how quickly the principle of having all things common lapsed. Selfish thoughts began to make inroads into the faith. The early fathers alarmed at how quickly believers lapsed into sin and half-hearted service of the Lord concluded that ‘of a truth sin cannot exercise dominion over those who live faithfully under the liberty of grace.’ So it seemed good to the clergy to institute a fast whereby men could be recalled to their pious duties of faithful living. Now that is a very laudable aim. It is one we readily identify with today in these days of spiritual apathy and decline in the church. However the problem here is that the fast itself soon became a duty, and thus part of the ritual of the Church which is seldom performed heartily as unto the Lord. So, although Lent is still observed, we have lost sight of its true purpose as its keeping has become a matter of individual choice. True times of prayer and fasting, times of solemn assembly, have become extremely rare, but have been attended by great blessing as in the 1845 Welsh revival under Daniel Rowlands.

However it was in (AD 350) St. Cyril the then bishop of Jerusalem began to use military terms in his traditional Lenten call for baptismal candidates, as a call to service. This is a concept I want to explore today, linking it to the biblical teaching on prayer and fasting.

So let us explore this concept of Lent as a call to service.
The primary role model is of course the Lord who prior to commencing His public ministry / service - to establish the kingdom of God - spent forty days and nights in fasting, prayer, and being tempted by Satan in the desert (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12 and Luke 4:1).

We could also look at Moses, forty days and nights on Mount Sinai, before presenting and implementing God’s law in the newly constituted nation. We might also think of Paul who spent an unspecified time in the desert of Arabia before commencing his great missionary work.

Thus self mortification, fasting, periods of intense spiritual exercises, communion with God, may be seen as preparation for service. It is not merely a pious way of increasing our standing in righteousness, its purpose is to enable us to serve God more fully.

Who should prepare for this service, and how? When Israel assembled before God on the Day of Atonement they were instructed, by God, to afflict your souls (Leviticus 16:29,31 & 23:27-32 and Numbers 29:7).

What does it mean to afflict ones soul? John Gill puts it thus - abstaining from eating and from drinking, and from the use of baths, and from anointing, and from the use of shoes, and of the marriage bed; thus we see it is a means to deny ourselves those things which bring us personal comfort.

Now those who were required to afflict their souls were those whom God called ‘My People’ - Israel, and who in obedience to Him brought and made a sin offering. Thus they would be reckoned by God as righteous children called to His service. Today they would be those who are born again and in a right relationship with God. JOHN 3 tells how when Jesus was baptised in Jordan, heaven opened and acknowledged Him as the Son with whom God was well pleased, and upon whom the Spirit rested. Clearly Jesus was in a right relationship with God.

Jesus here of course typifies every baptised believer in whom God’s spirit dwells. Thus we can say only true believers benefit from this service of prayer and fasting (Lent). Only those who know God in this way will truly be blessed by this fast, for others it will be nothing more than a ritual of works.

What is true of the body of God's people is also true for individuals called to particular service. Here we consider the OT example of Moses, he was very evidently called by God even from birth, remember the burning bush experience of God. But his calling and burning bush experience is not sufficient for the task ahead. He needs to afflict his soul and mortify the flesh to equip him for the kind of service God had in store for him. Only a man fully and humbly committed to the Lord could spend forty days and nights there with the Lord (Exodus 34:24). From that experience Moses emerged arguably the greatest leader Israel ever knew. Furthermore his encounter with God was evident to all as the glory of God shone in his face. Oh that we might emerge from our meeting with God the stronger and more fruitful in ministry and service of Him.

Sadly what had been designated as a means of blessing quickly fell into disrepute as men presumed upon the blessing of God. Little wonder that God through His prophets warned Israel time and again that their service was unacceptable, and rejected their fasts because they were not done for Me - for Me (Zechariah 7:3-7). Jesus criticised the Pharisees for fasting in order to be seen by men (Matthew 6:16) and for boasting about the frequency of their fasting (Luke 18:12). But He told us how to fast v18 - without show (even to disguise the fact) - secretly. He would then reward openly.

There lies before us, the Church, a great task. The task of serving the Lord and representing Him in the community. For that great task we must prepare ourselves as Ezra prepared that little band of exiles returning to Jerusalem - by prayer and fasting to seek from God the right way for us our little ones and all our possessions.

New Horizons

Joshua 3:4 - ‘for you have not passed this way before’

Israel are about to pass through the river Jordan, to enter and possess the land God had promised them. Moses their leader for the past forty years is dead, Joshua is his successor. The Ark of the Presence of God has been set in order and will lead the people into Canaan. Israel will follow at a set distance, so they can easily see and follow the Ark. Israel are about to embark on the greatest venture of all time, for any nation, any people. Neither they, nor anyone else for that matter, had been this way before.

A New Year lies before us, so in a very real sense we can say we have not been this way before. Sure some of us have celebrated many previous New Years, but none have repeated exactly the preceding year. It is new territory for us as it was for Israel under their new leader Joshua. So how should we move forward? Can the Bible offer any help? Perhaps we can learn something from Israel’s preparation to enter Canaan.

The key lies in the way Moses prepared Israel for her momentous moment in history. We must step back a little in time. First we note that Israel was encamped on the border of Canaan. They had in fact been there nearly forty years earlier, but because of unbelief God caused them to wander in the wilderness, but now once more they stand at the threshold of Canaan. It is here Moses rehearses their history of the last forty years in their hearing, commands the public reading of the law every seventh year, and teaches them a song to remind them of the greatness of their God and of their unique relationship to God.
He encouraged obedience to the word of God as the means of blessing both temporal and spiritual. In the closing words of the song the concept of God providing ‘atonement’ is introduced. A blessing that would extend far beyond Israel’s borders.

John Gill summarises ‘thus ends this most excellent and wonderful song, which is of such a large extent and compass, as to reach from the beginning of the Jewish nation, and before it, to the conversion of the Jews in the latter day; an history of more than four thousand years already; and how long more is yet to come before all in it is fulfilled no man call say.

Moses reminded them of their failure to enter into Canaan the first time was because of their rebellion against God, (Deuteronomy 1), followed by the wasted years, wandering in the wilderness, (Deuteronomy 2&3).
Moses commands obedience to the Law of God reiterating The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy ch.5). Perhaps they expected some great oration, some new directive or standard, but Moses took them back to the Word of God - and reminded them of their responsibility before God as His people.
Then followed the great commandment ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your might’ (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus would later underline the importance of this commandment when challenged by the Pharisees (Matthew 22:37). Saying that on this commandment (and the second) hang the law and prophets. He reminded them of their standing with God ‘You are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.’ (Deuteronomy 7:6) and that they were loved by God.

Then he reminded them of their proneness to sin, to rebel, against God, (Deuteronomy 9). The next 18 chapters are a distillation of nearly forty years of Moses teaching on the Law of God. Blessing on obedience and cursing / judgement on disobedience, chaps. 28-30. Finally He commanded that the Law of God be read, in public, every seventh year (Deuteronomy 31).

So having instructed them on the importance of the Law of God, and their responsibility towards God as His special people, Moses gave them a song to sing (Deuteronomy 32) which would remind them of these great truths, as they sang about the greatness of God (vv 1-4). Acknowledged their sinfulness. (vv 5-6). Sang of God’s mercy (vv 7-14). Their sin in scorning the God of their salvation vv 15-18. How mournful that song was at times when God hid His face from them (vv 19-35). However The Lord is compassionate (vv 36-43), and will ultimately provide atonement (v43).

Clearly Israel had much to be thankful for, much to sing about, and much to encourage her as she faced the unknown. We, too, have much to praise God for, both individually and collectively. We who once were bound in sin have been gloriously set free. We have been made partakers in the atonement promised to Israel, thus knowing personal salvation. We have been adopted into the family of God - thus we are chosen in a very real and special sense.

We are assured of God’s love for us - in that He gave His Son, the incarnate Word, to die for us, and that Jesus is coming back to take us to be with Him. So whatever the future holds for us - we have confidence in Him. Knowing that ‘He will never leave us nor forsake us.’ The God who has led us thus far will not suddenly abandon us, leaving us to the mercy of the enemy of our soul.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes.
That soul though all hell should endeavour to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

We have noted how Moses prepared Israel for her future by anchoring it to total obedience to Law of God. So without equivocation we say with Moses - obedience to the Word of God is the key to our future in the New Year ahead, both individually and collectively. That is the Word of God in its entirety, even the bits we do not like.

We must set our hearts upon the Word, the Word must be the motivation for seeking, serving, and loving the Lord. We must apply our minds, our thinking, our knowledge to knowing and obeying the Word of God. We must be resolved, determined, ever inclining towards the practice of the word. We must ensure our children are taught not just the word, but obedience to the word.

Now in the eyes of the world such things are futile, but for the true child of God, they are vital to life (eternal) which is his inheritance and possession in Christ. As John reminds us, ‘Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city’ (Revelation 22:14).
Thus the final blessing of obedience to the Word of God is full atonement realised in life eternal, and entrance into heaven itself.

Revival - Part 1: What is Revival?

“Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence”. (Isaiah 64:1)

“Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6
These verses contain the very essence of revival, God does wonderful things, and as he draws near to his people they rejoice in his presence. However, there is no neat definition of revival that enables us to state simply what it is or what it is not, and the best that can be done is to describe it as it has appeared down through the centuries.
However, it is first of all necessary to clear up some misunderstandings about revival that have given it something of a bad name in some quarters. Revival is not something that can be organised by a church on a particular date. However successful such meetings may be they have little impact on the outside world. In revival whole towns, cities and countries are affected.
Revival is not a successful campaign involving mass advertising, huge choirs and a famous evangelist. When George Whitefield preached in 1739 at Kennington Common, during the Great Evangelical Revival, over 30,000 people gathered without the use of such means.
Revival is to be distinguished from so called "phenomena" that have sometimes been associated with it. These have included fainting, excitement, visions, and reported miracles. These things have caused divisions and bitter debate among Christians both at the time of revival and later. John Wesley believed that they were the marks of a work of the Holy Spirit. Charles Wesley disapproved of such matters and discouraged them in his meetings. Jonathan Edwards apologised for them. A feature of revivals is their great variety, some being completely free from phenomena, others being famous because of them. Whatever these strange things may be they are not essential to revival.
Finally, revival is not a short cut to a successful church or an excuse to opt out of the means that God expects us to use day by day to take the message of the Gospel to the lost. Revival is unusual and special, a glorious work of God alone that is additional to the ordinary means that he uses to refresh his people and gather the church.