Can
you imagine the scene, it’s a quiet
morning and while you prepare yourself for the day ahead, you decide to turn on the TV and after
channel surfing, you glimpse a place
that you have many happy childhood memories of sunny and not so sunny family holidays?
That happened to me, I was just getting
ready recently, and I turned on the TV,
and there on BBC 1’s Street Patrol UK was the seaside resort of Ilfracombe , North Devon,
and I noticed the police on this programme were chasing some people with
alcohol issues up Capstone Hill, and I
remember my sisters and I playing various summer sports like Hide and
Seek, Cricket, and Football with our
parents and grandparents, and I would like to add that we never had the police
chasing us!
If
I had closed my eyes, I could have imagined the
feel of the grass underneath my feet, and the smell of the sea-air, however the smell of the sea-air could be
because I live in Southport, which is another seaside resort, it’s almost 30 years since the last time I visited
Ilfracombe, but looking at this programme today, it hasn’t changed a great deal
that I know that I would be able to find my way around, I recognised Ilfracombe as soon as I saw
it, although it has been a number of
years since my last visit.
I’ve
been a Christian a number of years now, and with a retrospective view, I can see many highs and lows,
disappointments and frustrations, times
of great blessing and times of great sorrow ,
yet despite that and in some ways because of all that has gone before
, I feel that I’m a stronger and more
mature Christian, although that doesn’t mean I get it right all the time, and in no way I’m perfect, but slowly, steadily and graciously my Lord
is making me more and more like him each day.
The
Apostle Paul, who the Lord used graciously to write most of the New Testament
of the Bible said these powerful words.
Philippians
3:7-17New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for
the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss [a]in view
of the surpassing value of [b]knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, [c]for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain
Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived
from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection and [d]the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death; 11 [e]in order that I may attain to the resurrection
from the dead.
12
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press
on [f]so that I may lay hold of that [g]for which also I was laid hold of by
Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it
yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call
of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are [h]perfect, have
this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will
reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep [i]living by that same
standard to which we have attained.
17
Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to
the pattern you have in us.
Please
can you read carefully these words below, and let it sink into you
. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having
laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and
reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus
The
Prophet Isaiah wrote these words:
Isaiah
43:18-19New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
For
a number of years from the age of 13 until I was 18, I had the opportunity to be part of a Youth
Camp held near Rhyl, Denbighshire for the first few years, and for the last 4
or so years held in Yeovil, Somerset
that the Church Denomination I was part of at the time organised and run, It was a great privilege to meet up with other
young people not only from Wales, but
from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and from other lands too.
I
count it as a great privilege to be friends with those people, (now like me
older now) who I have either remained friends over the years or have renewed our friendships recently through
social media.
I
know that the Lord moved mightily amongst us, yes we had fun, and got up to some adventures, but I know that overall God called many of us
to serve Him and His Church, I remember
when I had just left School at 16, it
was the summer of 1986, and I decided to fulfil my boyhood dream of being a
Soldier, and one night I went forward
for prayer and after I had returned to my seat,
the Lord spoke to me, and told me
that he didn’t want me to be a Soldier.
For
the last few days The Lord has been speaking to me about a commitment I
made to Him, when I was a 16 year old teenager at that Youth Camp in 1986, I had been a Christian for just over 5 years at that time, and my greatest desire was to be a
soldier in the British Army, but God had different and better
plans for my life, during the last few months the Lord has been reminded
me of some things He has spoken into my life for the just over the last thirty
years. After coming back from the prayer meeting at the Church were I’m a
member last night the Lord reminded me once more of those things.
I
was 11 years old when I became a Christian, and a few weeks after I
was saved, one of my close boyhood friends and I were exploring the
church were the children's meeting had been held where we both had given our
lives to the Lord, while we were exploring, one of the Pastors of the
Pentecostal Denomination we were part of, was walking down the stairs we were
running up, this Pastor bought me a significant prophetic word,
that the Lord has reminded me again of some 30 years later.
I’ve
been spending a lot of time in the last 6 or so months in Leeds, West Yorkshire
and I travel by train from my home in Southport to visit someone very special in
Leeds, for the last few trips I’ve
caught a direct train service, (direct
train as in I don’t have to change trains to get to my destination) from
Southport to Leeds, when I head for that
train it says on the notice board it says 15:57 to Leeds on Platform 6, so I
head for the Platform 6, not Platform 9 ¾
! usually the train is there waiting for
the driver and the guard and some passengers are waiting too, on the front of
the train the destination says Leeds, so
I don’t need to check with the crew if this is the train to Leeds, this train isn’t the quickest service to
Leeds or indeed the most direct and it makes numerous stops between Southport
and Leeds, some stops are closer to Southport and some are closer to Leeds, and
some stops are some distance from my start point and towards my destination of Leeds.
Can
you imagine if I got frustrated or stressed, and decided to get of the train a few
stops from Southport or because the train is taking longer that I would like it too take , get of a few stops
from Leeds, or decided that I like the look of Manchester, which is half way on the journey? During this journey numerous people get on
and off the train and leave or get on at various stops, yet I’m the only person travelling to
Leeds, not even the crew go there, there are 2 other crew changes between
Southport and Leeds. Yet despite of who gets or gets off the train, or the driver and guard are replaced by other
drivers and guards, the train’s destination is still, yes you’ve guessed it's Leeds!
My
background is in Pentecostalism,and I have recently joined a Pentecostal Church, my theology and doctrinal standards are
essentially and in essence Pentecostal, in recent days the Lord has spoken to
me, about my Pentecostal heritage and
roots, and when I’m in Leeds, I go to a
Pentecostal Church. A few months ago
The Church were I was a member was closed
due to the group of Churches they are part off,
had their annual summer camp, I
wasn’t going to the summer camp , so on that Sunday I went to a local
Pentecostal Church here in Southport. I
have thought for most of the last 20 plus years, that I’ve been away from the
Pentecostal Movement, I had never really
considered returning there, however
after my Mum went to be with the Lord, I
did re-join the Pentecostal Church I spent my formative years in and ended up returning to the New Church Stream after much prayer and seeking the Lord, I have just returned to my Pentecostal roots and heritage and know the Lord's presence in this move,
Those
of you, who may not know what I mean by Pentecostalism, here is an description
“, Pentecostalism,
in its purist form, tries to do. It tries to erase the smudges on the church
for the last 20 centuries and get back to what the early Christians believed
and practiced. That is our goal—to get back to biblical, original Christianity…..So
Pentecostalism, at its roots, is basically a restorationist movement. We
believe that we can cut through 20 centuries of church tradition and get back
to the original church. It doesn’t mean that we do everything like the original
church, but we’re trying to have the same doctrine and experience of the Early
Church.”
Dr George O Wood, Assemblies of God,
USA
There has been one Pentecostal Distinctive has recently caught my
imagination and has really both challenged and blessed me,
Jesus the Saviour, Jesus the Healer, Jesus the baptiser in the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the
Coming King : The Four Square Gospel.
In recent days, I felt God’s gentle whisper, mostly during my
personal prayer times, and have found my
interest in and love for His Church and His Kingdom being re-kindled and
re-ignited, I’ve been a Christian a
number of years now, and have had times were I’ve been closer to God than at
other times, I asked the Lord last night
what He does He want to me to do and he reminded me of some scriptures and
somethings I wrote last year.
Genesis 26:18-25New International Version -
UK (NIVUK)
18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug
in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after
Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and
discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled
with those of Isaac and said, ‘The water is ours!’ So he named the well
Esek,[a] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but
they quarrelled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[b] 22 He moved on
from there and dug another well, and no one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[c] saying, ‘Now the
Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.’
23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24
That night the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father
Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will
increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.’
25 Isaac built an altar there and called on
the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a
well.
Isaiah 49 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
The servant of the Lord
49 Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant
nations:
before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has
spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he
hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his
quiver.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display
my splendour.’
4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain;
I have spent my strength for
nothing at all.
Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.’
5 And now the Lord says –
he who formed me in the womb
to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am[a] honoured in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my
strength –
6 he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel
I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to
the ends of the earth.’
7 This is what the Lord says –
the Redeemer and Holy One of
Israel –
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
‘Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who
has chosen you.’
Isaiah 42:6-9New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
6 ‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the
people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the
dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 ‘I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to
another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.’
An
extract from Kingdom Dynamics from the New Spirit Filled Life Bible.
,
“Shepherding amid the Supernatural, Ephesians 4:11ff teaches us that
all leadership gifts are given by Christ
the Lord of the church to “equip” (that is to mend, prepare and enable to
function) the whole body of the congregation............ , true
supernatural ministry at work in the church begets vital, spiritually
functional people throughout the whole church family. The body is to be built
up by the mutual efforts of all members supplying their contribution to the
whole. The call to empower people requires mentoring, training, imparting
and discipling/discipleship - all aimed at preparing the body for stability and
increase.”
Oswald Chambers.
Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your
common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back?
If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every
time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And
the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what
Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing,
until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we
tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . .
?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my
common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those
who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is
ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk
everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ
demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common
sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately
find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.
By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but
when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit
with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in
God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to
you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an
entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
Isaiah 6:8New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who
will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’
Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point--a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go more and more toward a slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest--our best for His glory." --Oswald Chambers, from the My Utmost for His Highest
Be Blessed Today
Blair Humphreys
Southport Merseyside
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