1. Visiting Chester
2. Visiting Blackpool
3. Staying at home and watching TV
etc
I decided
eventually to go to Blackpool, which as the seagull flies or indeed the crow
flies, Blackpool is some 11 miles from Southport, however because of the unique
geography of the North West of England Coast, unless you can travel by Sea, to
get from Southport to Blackpool you have to travel via Preston which is a
distance of some 31 miles.
On Monday, I
decided to read up on Blackpool and read the Wikipedia Article, the Visit
Blackpool Website and the Blackpool Gazette Website, it would have
easy for me to read about Blackpool and because I have read about it to
consider reading about it to have the same value of visiting there.
I had
several options how to get from Southport to Blackpool, these included
walking, going by bus or going by train, I don’t drive, so driving was
out of the question, and I know of another church here in Southport who
have an annual sponsored cycle ride from Southport to Blackpool. I don’t
have access to a bicycle so cycling was also out, it would take to long
to walk, so this left travelling either by Bus or Train, so it came down
to cost, the Train would have cost some £17.00 or the Bus would cost
£7.00.
So, I found
myself just after 9.00am on Tuesday, at my local Tesco Express taking money
from the Cash Machine and then buying some refreshments for my journey, and
then walking to the Bus Stop to wait for X2 Stagecoach Bus from Southport to
Preston, then I had a choice to make I could either travel by the 61 Stagecoach
Bus from Preston to Blackpool via Kirkham or the 68 Stagecoach Bus from Preston
to Blackpool via Lytham St Annes. When I’ve travelled previously to
Blackpool via Preston I had opted for the 68 Service which seems to take
ages. I decided to opt for a change and when for the 61 Service which
went via Kirkham.
It was
interesting going a different way to reach my destination rather than going in
a familiar or expected way, yes I still got to Blackpool but I got there in a
way that I hadn't considered until after I had arrived in Preston.
On my
journey to Blackpool, I had to travel via some interesting places such as
Kirkham and Marton, because of various reasons such as the heat and the
traffic, it could have been easy to get off before Blackpool and explore
these places, but they weren’t my destination, I knew what was my
destination, because I could see the Blackpool Tower in the distance, and I
know what I was heading for.
I had
to rely on the Bus Driver and I did wonder why when there were so many signs
saying Blackpool, the driver seemed to ignore them and carried along on his
journey, but despite the driver ignoring these signs the buses' destination was
still Blackpool!
I could have
got off the Bus when I saw a sign that said Blackpool and said I have seen
the sign that says Blackpool so I must be there, but the sign pointed me
in the direction of Blackpool and it wasn’t my destination, it just showed me
the way to go.
On my way to the Blackpool Tower, there was a lot if traffic congestion because of roadworks and building work being done, although I could see my destination of Blackpool Tower. I could have been frustrated by circumstances and decided to get off before my destination and called where I got off my new destination, eventually the Bus stopped near to Blackpool Tower, and I realised that I had arrived, it seemed to take longer than I expected and there had been delays but I was there.
In my
childhood days, my parents and my grandparents would take my sisters Becky,
Abby and myself to see the famous Blackpool Illuminations for the day by train
excursion, one particular trip comes to mind, on the 2nd and final family trip to Blackpool, it
was just my parents, my sisters and myself this time and being October it was
raining, my mother decided to take us to see a show on one of the piers and she
mistakenly thought she booked for us to see Camberwick Green, but had
booked us to see the Grumbleweeds instead!, and after we had left the show, my
mother who was slightly shocked by what she had seen, reminded my sisters
and I “don’t tell your grandparents!”
Since I’ve
moved to Southport, I’ve made 3
journeys from Southport to Blackpool, in many ways it’s so near, yet
so far! Blackpool has a certain reputation and tends to attract a lot of
stag and hen parties, there is a lot of need and in ways it is quite a deprived
area, and Blackpool Council and other parties are making financial investments
into the communities of Blackpool.
On my
trip to Blackpool last year, I made several observations and the Lord
bought a scripture to my mind
Matthew
9:35-38 New American Standard Bible.
35 Jesus was
going through all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing
every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
36 Seeing the people, He felt
compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep
without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few. 38
Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Following on
from that Scripture
John 4:35-38
35 Do you
not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your
eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 Already he
who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that
he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the
saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38
I sent you to reap that for which you have not laboured; others have laboured
and you have entered into their labour.”
We, the
Church are the visible representation of God’s Kingdom Rule and Reign here on
Earth, we are his messengers of hope, healing, love and compassion, salvation &
restoration, the people we see every day are the people for whom Jesus died on
the Cross for, we are the ones who are to bring hope and healing to our communities.
Isaiah 6:8-9
New American Standard Bible
8 Then I
heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for
Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9
He said, “Go, and tell this people:
Romans
10:14-16 New American Standard Bible
14 How then will they call on Him in
whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not
heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach
unless they are sent? Just as
it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good
things 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord,
who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by
the word of Christ.
Like a majority of you who read this blog, I'm not a Christian Leader and/or Minister, however that doesn’t disqualify us from being a messenger or messengers to our community or our surrounding communities.
We see in
Ephesians 4:11-16 New American Standard Bible
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some
as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for
the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the
body of Christ; 3 until we
all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there
by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men,
by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are
to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom
the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love.
Some 2,000
years ago, our Lord and Saviour Jesus choose 12 Ordinary Men, that weren’t the
most educated, or the brightest or indeed the best, many people including
themselves would have taken one long look at themselves and thought who are
these Men, Jesus can’t use us or these!
1
Corinthians 1:26-31 New American Standard Bible
26 For consider your calling,
brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the
things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the
despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the
things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing
you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness
and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him
who boasts, boast in the Lord.
The Lord has
called people to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers to equip
us all for works of service.
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.”
Jeremiah 33
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Restoration Promised
3 ‘Call to Me and I will
answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do
not know.’ 4 For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning
the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah
which are broken down to make a defense against the siege
ramps and against the sword, 5 ‘While they are
coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men
whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face
from this city because of all their wickedness:
6 Behold, I will bring to
it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them
an abundance of peace and truth. 7 I
will restore the [c]fortunes
of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at
first. 8 I will cleanse them from all their
iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their
iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have
transgressed against Me. 9 [d]It
will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations
of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they
will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I
make for it.’
10 “Thus
says the Lord, ‘Yet again
there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste,
without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and
in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without
inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice
of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the
voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“Give thanks to the Lord of
hosts,
For the Lord is good,
For His loving kindness is everlasting”;
For the Lord is good,
For His loving kindness is everlasting”;
and of those who
bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the [e]fortunes
of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.
12 “Thus
says the Lord of hosts,
‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast,
and in all its cities, a [f]habitation
of shepherds who rest their flocks. 13 In the cities
of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev,
in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of
Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers
them,’ says the Lord.
Word Wealth,
also from The New Spirit Filled Bible
Ephesians 4:12 equipping,
katartismos, Strong’s #2677
“A making fit, preparing, training,
perfecting, making fully qualified for service”
I believe that the more time we
invest in spending with our Ephesians 4:11 leaders, the more we embody their
divine gifting, and their lives and ministry equips us to reach our
communities, for example if we spend time with Apostles the more Apostolic we become,
and again the more time we spend with a Pastor the more Pastoral we
become.
Another word for Pastors is
Shepherd, I’m going to refer again to Word Wealth from The New Spirit Filled
Bible
Matthew 10:2 shepherd, poimon,
Strong’s #4166
“a herdsman, sheepherder, one who
tends, leads, guides, cherishes, feeds, and protects a flock. The New Testament
uses the word for a Christian pastor to whose care and leadership others will
commit themselves.”
I believe that we the church are to
be pastoral or shepherding to the people in our communities, some of us
are called to the Ephesians 4:11 ministry of Pastor, their role is to equip us
to be pastoral to our communities. A pastor or shepherd has the shepherd heart
of Jesus, and that could be to the Church he pastors or the community they
pastor or shepherd.
If you have time, I suggest you read
John 10, to close I’m going to quote
John 10 New
International Version - UK (NIVUK)
The good shepherd and his sheep
10 ‘Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does
not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a
thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of
the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the
sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he
goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger;
in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s
voice.’ 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees
did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell
you, I am the gate for the sheep.8 All who have come before me are thieves and
robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through
me will be saved.[a]They will come in and go out, and find
pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep.12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own
the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs
away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired
hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my
sheep know me – 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this
sheepfold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there
shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I
lay down my life – only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it
down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it
up again. This command I received from my Father.’
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed
and raving mad. Why listen to him?’
21 But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a
man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’
Further conflict over Jesus’ claims
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts
walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying,
‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us
plainly.’
25 Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do
not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are
not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they
follow me.28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my
Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.’
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to
stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many
good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’
33 ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they
replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’
34 Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in
your Law, “I have said you are ‘gods’”[d]? 35 If he called them “gods”, to whom the
word of God came – and Scripture cannot be set aside – 36 what about the one whom the Father set
apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of
blasphemy because I said, “I am God’s Son”? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works
of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe
me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in
me, and I in the Father.’ 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their
grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place
where John had been baptising in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said,
‘Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was
true.’ 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
1 Peter 5:1-3
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Serve God Willingly
5 Therefore, I exhort the elders
among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a
partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among
you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to
the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as
lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to
the flock.
Although
this speaks of eldership being pastoral to the Church they lead, I believe that
we are also responsible to the Lord to shepherd the communities we live in.
Rise up O Church
My place is here in Southport, and God has called me as
part of His Church here to pastor my community, but I can pray for Blackpool
and other places.
