The eternal journey

The eternal journey is one that many people are looking for in our modern-day society. We may try to make sense of this rapidly changing world with its constantly upgrading technology, globalisation and far more transient work / life existence. The challenge for so many seekers is that established church and traditional forms of organised religion have become the antithesis of modern values. If we take the time to have conversations with none-

believers they will tell you that often they pray, that they believe that there is a God but they cannot relate to church and see no need to attend a public service. We have a great challenge then in our generation to reshare the truth of the eternal message, God’s message of hope, love and salvation. To demonstrate rather than instruct to model rather than direct what it looks like to follow this eternal journey. After all it is shallow thinking indeed to consider this life as of great importance, Jesus Himself said “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” (John 12v25).

As the church has over time softened it’s position in order to become more and more attractional it has lost something of it’s core purpose and identity. I am all for making church a safe and friendly place for people to come and discover Jesus but we must never become a mere social club or welfare institution for the congregation members. The world does those things far better than the church could ever do. What is needed more than anything in our generation is authentic Holy Spirit anointed Christianity. Believers who are walking this eternal journey as they pass through this life, who have little concern for being entertained, who gather for spiritual fellowship instead. That was why Jesus sat with tax collectors and sinners, for their sakes not His. I long for our nation to see believers who offer to pray for the sick and they get healed, who pray for needs and receive miracles so that those around them might see the true eternal journey instead of so much of the plastic lip service Christianity that the world must so often endure. Where is the power and the anointing for the everyday believer? On the eternal journey there is genuine love and grace, authentic faith because to continue on that journey we must all come to the cross and leave our issues behind and the further we go the greater the surrender we must make. It is one thing to accept Jesus as our saviour, but a very different thing to walk the road to eternity with Him. It is time for a spiritual awakening, for the church to realise who we are and how we are meant to be. To demonstrate both the love of God and the power of His indwelling Spirit so the world has no doubt where the road to eternity is.

Kingdom of the Revolution

Heaven brings a revolution to our human way of living. Kingdom of heaven living and thinking is all about putting God first and then considering the needs of others before ourselves. It is so revolutionary that it goes against the very nature of human beings. After all the bible explains that humanity has fallen, caught in the chains of sin, selfishness and rebellion. To introduce a new way of thinking and living required an act of monumental selflessness, and that is what Jesus Christ did when He died on the cross. In one moment the Son of God released the power of Heaven, the power to change, by breaking the death grip of sinful nature and human thinking. That is why the message is one of freedom, of release, of equipping and empowering so that we might not only gain this new way of living but also have the strength to live it out in our every day lives. If we don’t exercise this power we are given to live in this revolutionary way then we find ourselves caught between two worlds. Sadly for many believers this is what Christianity looks like, living a half life, one of subtle compromises, never fully experiencing the fullness of new living (kingdom living). It is too easy to enjoy the grace of God’s forbearance, accepting God’s patience instead of making those necessary changes to our thoughts and actions. However the Kingdom of God is revolution, in our hearts and in our minds. The challenge then is to join the revolution, to cooperate with God’s Holy Spirit rather than sit content with one foot in the doorway of eternity and the other fixed firmly in the creature comforts of this world. It is only when the revolution has fully taken hold of our lives that it begins to have an affect on those around us. Whilst ever believers live in the half life, the ‘not quite’ revolution, those around will witness compromise, unbelief and find it difficult to see the change of revolution living. We cannot hope for others to recognise the Kingdom of Heaven revolution in our lives if it has not been allowed to take complete hold over out thoughts and actions. After all Jesus said ”the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13v44). Revolution is about radical change, the kind of change that completely alters our view of everything. The Kingdom of heaven revolution isn’t about earthly armies or governments it is a revolution of our hearts and minds. A change at the very core of our being that alters who we are so that we become the revolution by the way we act and think. This revolution is a revolution of love and compassion, of mercy, grace and peace. It is the eternal way, the selfless way, the way to spiritual life and fulfilment, it is the Kingdom of heaven revolution that brings about the salvation of lost humanity.

Freedom in unity

There is freedom in unity. As we look at the whole proposition of salvation we realise that in order for us to enter into new life we must become united with Christ. Not only that but we become part of His body (the church) with one another, if we are in Him then we are also united with one another. That is why Paul goes to great lengths in 1 Corinthians to help believers realise that our differences should not divide us but rather give us greater cause for rejoicing. It is fair to say that in this principality of Wales, church has for many centuries been divided. Too many congregations and individuals have held others at a distance and sometimes, sadly, in contempt. They have been bound in a spirit of division that has caused at times competitiveness and a lack of genuine love. However this is not biblical Christianity, as Paul puts it -”Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1v13). It get’s even worse as over the history of churches in this part of the world we see congregations have also been divided there have at times been schisms in local churches. All this is far from being united in Christ and has far more to do with Satan’s divide and conquer strategy.

When we as believers bring down the walls and release true lovingkindness towards fellow believers we make way for unity. With unity God releases blessing (Psalm 133). In this way we find freedom, we are released into a new, deeper dynamic of blessing and experience. It isn’t that we don’t have access to such through the finished work of Christ but that we obstruct ourselves by the nature of what we hold in our hearts. If I see my unity with Christ, become conscious of the deep connection I now have with Him then I come to realise the full extent of my freedom. I am free—in Him, in the same way that being a member of an organisation gives the rights and privileges that come with that membership, so being united with Christ brings about all the privileges of being a child of God. We then who are ‘in Christ’ having been united with Him now benefit from the freedom that comes from this belonging. We are free because in Him we are no longer slaves to the former lusts, appetites, and oppression that once kept us slaves to sin. Instead we now have power to resist, power to choose, no longer to act out our desires but rather put them away and arise victorious over that which once held us defeated. There is so much to say about spiritual freedom and much to rejoice about but we must realise that this freedom comes from being united with Christ and by relation also with His church (our heavenly brothers and sisters). I believe in these days God is awakening a fresh desire for unity with all likeminded believers, a day of building bridges so that His church might again demonstrate freedom and power to our communities for His glory.