Oneness

October 11, 2013

Multi-coloured cross

I prepared the following as an outline for the Act of Worship on Radio Merseyside on 6th October 2013:

As this is an ‘act of worship’ why not take time to read, listen to the music suggested and pray with me at the end…

We are looking at what Oneness might mean for us all across this City Region.

When Jesus left his small band of disciples after his death and resurrection 2000 years ago he told them to go and wait in Jerusalem. He said that God’s power would come upon them. A few weeks later they were together in the now famous ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem. As they waited, God’s Spirit visited them in power causing quite an uproar! From that moment the Church changed from a small group of nervous  people wondering what was happening into a bold, zealous, miracle-working, body of believers. The Jerusalem Bible describes this extraordinary event saying that it happened as they ‘had all met in one room.’

A thousand years earlier the singer songwriter and ruler of Jerusalem, King David, was inspired to write a song about coming together. A song which exclaims that God blesses us when we are united like brothers. Recorded in Psalm 133 it begins:

“How good, how delightful it is

For all to live together like brothers..”

And the psalm concludes:

“this is where Yahweh confers his blessing, everlasting life.”

These visions lead me to reflect on how God will bless us in our city of Liverpool, and even the City Region if we can really live together in unity. What a wonderful challenge! What a wonderful promise from God that we might take hold of.

Please listen to the words of this song written by the band, Blue Tree from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has often been used as an example of how badly divided Christians can be. This song looks to the vision of what a City and region could be under God’s blessing.

Blue Tree song “You’re the God of this city”

Isn’t it encouraging to look at God as the God of our city, town or region?

Clearly the Bible view of oneness, unity and community harmony is a picture of God’s blessing on the people.

The Bible does not just simply set out rules for us to follow. More importantly, the Bible shows that what happened at Pentecost 2000 years ago in that upper room was the enabling of the people of God to be His agents of good news in the world.

The church is to be the Body of Jesus, bringing healing, wholeness and living as an example of a loving community.

In the past centuries politics and human agendas have resulted in countless splits and factions so that today there are estimated to be over 25,000 denominational groups who name Jesus as their saviour. This is hardly the example of living together like brothers which the Bible promises will bring blessings!

But! Before we give up hope, there is hope!

All around the world, in every nation and across continents the Church is maturing. As church groups realise the need to cooperate not compete;  Jesus promised to prepare a singular bride, we are seeing new expressions of oneness in so many ways. Not only are the big denominational groups looking for ways to work effectively together, but at community level where we each live, local churches are discovering partnerships and friendships across walls which have divided for decades or centuries.

The prayer which Jesus taught us to pray, which many of us learnt off by heart at school includes the line:

‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”

We understand that God’s Kingdom rule is clear and perfected in Heaven. This prayer that Christians have prayed since Jesus taught us, is yearning for the perfection of heaven to be seen on earth.

I chose the next song by Shane Beales because it focuses on Jesus’ word about His Kingdom coming, and Shane wrote the ‘Liverpool Song’ in this city, with God’s purposes for Liverpool in mind.

The refrain goes:

“your Kingdom come, your will be done – oh Lord,

In Liverpool your Spirit rule –  oh God.”

I have been excited to discover that more and more Christian unity movements in cities and towns across Britain are gathering momentum and doing good where they are. We know of church unity movements in more than 85 cities and towns across the UK. These networks and associations are seeking positive relationships between themselves, and at the same time seeking to build healthy relationships with the communities they serve and are part of. The Bible challenges the Church to grow up in terms of unity and it is a huge encouragement to see this happening in our days. The history of Israel describes the people of God being challenged to line up with God’s thinking and come together and put aside personal differences and selfishness. We believe that when we line up our thinking with God’s ways, He is just waiting to bless people and communities.

I was recently sent a poem about this Oneness written by Dennis Wrigley of the Maranatha Community. The Maranatha Community have been praying for church unity in this country for over 30 years.

This is the poem – called “Together”:

If you My people

will come together

in true unity

I will stand in your midst

and you will know

My real presence.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one family

I will reveal Myself to you

as your loving Father.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one flock

I will show Myself to you

as the Good Shepherd.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one, in shared hunger

I will feed you

and I will be for you

the Bread of Life.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one in praise

and acknowledge Me as Lord

I will pour out My Spirit upon you.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one in repentance

You will receive

My forgiveness

and you will be liberated.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one in obedience

and wait upon me

I will raise you as a

mighty army in the land.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one in love,

hand in hand,

My great power to heal

will be released.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one, to listen

you will hear My voice

and you will receive

the Living Word.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one and speak as one

My voice will be heard

throughout the land.

 

If you My people

will gather together

as the one living Body of Christ

you will be transformed

you will be used

as instruments of

faith, hope and love

and your nation will be changed.

 

If you My people

will come together

as one, before My Cross

your chains will fall off

your hearts will be free

you will rise up

and together

follow Me.

 Written by Dennis Wrigley Used by kind permission of the Maranatha Community – September 2013   http://www.maranathacommunity.org.uk/ 

Aren’t those words an inspiration for us all to come together? An inspiration of what might yet be possible?

Jesus taught us to pray that the Kingdom would come to earth as in heaven. He later prayed an amazing prayer for all of us in John 17 verse 21 when he prayed

“May they all be one, Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me, and I am in you.”

Jesus prayed that we would experience the same Oneness that he has with his Father! As we seek to worship God together and pray together in one place and with united hearts, there is a tremendous blessing promised for us. We should have great hope as we observe the true coming together of Christians in every town, city, and nation.

The Church is supposed to be bringing the healing for the nations. Listen to this song written for Come Together 40 years ago, and updated for now by Denis and Lloyd Wade with choirs from across the nation:

SONG: Heal Our Land – featuring Lloyd Wade

As we come together, we can call on God to heal us and for us to bring healing.

Let us pray together:

Lord, you are our creator, and you made us to live in community. Your Body is called to live as your ambassador and servant in the world. We are to be your hands and voice where we live. Would you inspire us to put aside our personal prejudices and opinions to serve others with grace and truth. Would you help your Church, the Church which bears your name, to express Oneness in our land.

 

Lord Jesus, stir up an increased desire in your Body, the Church, to come together in worship and action. Breath again into us as you did at Pentecost in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Send us out in the power and zeal of the Holy Spirit as you began in that upper room. Let your People carry the blessing of the goodness of God into all our communities as you entrust us with all the more as we live in harmony.

 

Amen.

 

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The Shepherd’s Rod

May 14, 2013

The Bible wonderfully connects the big picture and the detail. God has given us instruction on personal salvation and society. In a Man with a stickmoment we can be reading about personal choices while gaining insight into the prophetic big picture of the end times!

11 years ago in Alabama I was given a symbolic painted shepherd’s rod. This colourful and not very straight myrtle stick has the 23rd Psalm in pictures and words. Being given this 5 foot pole was not at all on my list of ambitions but God challenged me to take it on my travels around the world. Carrying the colourful rod brings plenty of attention and a good deal of embarrassment. It certainly drove me to focusing on what Psalm 23 actually says in relation to different situations. The image of our Great Shepherd with a mighty Rod seems to me to apply to our personal relationship with him, and also God’s great plan for the nations.

Much of my life is absorbed with the whole matter of church unity and Christians coming together with different perspectives. In Psalm 133 God ‘commands’ a blessing where there is true unity. This now reads to me as an authoritative decree from this strong shepherd with his uncompromising rod of authority. Surely the rod is actually a symbol of the unbending word of God? As I prayed and sang with 32,000 people at the National Day of Prayer and Worship at Wembley Stadium in 2012 I had an awesome sense that the Lord, our Shepherd, was holding his rod over His flock and revealing the Kingdom a little more in our nation. The Shepherd was not looking at denominations, he was looking at his Body!

The first song in the Bible in Genesis 2 is the love song that the first man burst out with when he saw the first woman – perhaps the first wedding song! This personal expression of love is intimate and universal. The last song in the Bible sings of the ultimate fulfilment of God’s plans in the celebration of the Bride being ready for the Groom. At a personal level these songs capture the human story from the natural to eternal salvation for each of us. On a national and social level the fact that God’s plan ends with a wedding should alert us to see that as we approach the end of days, the very issue of marriage is destined to be attacked and distorted.

Another theme which seems to speak to the person and the cosmos at the same time is the idea of ‘crisis and glory’. Psalm 23 reminds us that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but with no fear, because he is with us. The truth of walking with Jesus is that he is right with us, with His Rod, as we pass through the shadow of death. His glory is present in the crisis. This translates to the global scene in 2013 with the nations in turmoil. Most developed economies are almost overwhelmed with debt and social crisis. Developing nations are battling with poverty and disease. The answer everywhere is to turn to the comfort of the Shepherd and his rod!God's Rod of Authority

The calling of Jesus is personal and intimate. He wants to be the shepherd of each of us on an individual and moment by moment basis. At the same time He is guiding His body to be all that He has called us to be – united, purposeful, strong and faithful. Under His authority we have authority – to deliver individuals from demons, or to speak into our society and national government with the wisdom of the Shepherd.

This article first appeared in Harvest magazine, a publication of Together for the Harvest. http://www.tfh.org.uk/

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The Born-again Identity

March 5, 2013

The Born-again IdentityBorn (again) Identity

A man washed up at sea, alone and desperate – without any clarity as to who he is and what his purpose is. Jesus intervenes in his life to reveal that he has paid the price for the man’s failure and as the man accepts this on faith, the man is liberated from the control of the past and starts to make his own choices for real life.

The Born-again Supremacy

The liberated man is in charge of his own flesh and living in freedom under the leading of the Holy Spirit. He learns to see the difference between the programming of his former sinful life and true   freedom. He learns to take the lead in the fight against control and manipulation. Growth in this leads to victory in life.

The Born-again Ultimatum

As the man matures and learns who are on the side of the Kingdom and how the enemies operate, he becomes a target for those enemies. Some who appear to be on the side of the Kingdom, are in fact deceivers, seeking their own empires. Some enemies are evidently evil, and need to be stopped. The man has only one option, to stick to the truth and ultimately even his own life is not something he can cling onto.

The Born-again Legacy

The man who has lived his life in Jesus’ liberty leaves consequences for the next generation. The exposure of truth and removal of evil control systems will result in opportunities for those who come next. One person’s liberty from the evil programme will enable many others to take the battle against darkness to a new level.

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Negative Interest

March 4, 2013

IMAG2397

The Bank of England is considering negative interest rates. The UK’s credit rating has slipped. Surely this is further evidence that the banking system is broken and that the government has run out of levers to pull to stimulate the economy? The government has bailed out the banks, and now wants the banks to bail out the government! Maybe now is the time to start to think about the real issues and the real solution.

When Saint Paul wrote 2000 years ago about the triple qualities of ‘faith, hope and love’ he probably was not thinking about solutions to a triple dip recession, but maybe there is an application right now?

There is plenty of cash in the world economy. The problem is that those with the cash are hesitating about investing. It is all about confidence in where the economy is going, and confidence is based on trust, which is really faith. Those with faith are the ones who are investing and starting new ventures.

The world is increasingly filled with insecurity about the future. People and economic markets, whether investors or consumer spending are depressed about the outlook. Those with hope are able to operate with a different kind of liberty and sense of vision. Those with a Biblical framework for understanding the world can see their own place and purpose without anxiety. The people of hope can give others hope. In a world awash with hopelessness, the currency of the future is hope.

We can have great confidence (faith) for the days we are in, and sure-footed steps for the future (hope) but all of this can only be held together if we have authentic relationships. Investors want to know the people they are investing in. Workers want to be treated as people with families and friends. Businesses need to be part of communities. Much of this has been lost in our age of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ replacing community. Investors and workers have lost touch with each other. Families seem disconnected from the stockholders. The glue we need to help us stick together is love. When we have meaningful relationships, trust seems to develop and our thinking is guided with hope.

The principles of faith, hope and love are timeless, and truly are at the heart of what our society and economy needs. More than the cheap alternatives of political correctness, diversity and equality.

Paul gave us profound wisdom:

Three things remain: Faith , hope and love. The greatest of these is love.

It really is time for those with faith, hope and love to step forward. All three are required at the same time.

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12.12.12 A KAIROS CALL

December 11, 2012

As we reach 12 noon on 12.12.12 the very date and time speak to us of spiritual alignment, of Godly government, of Jesus Kingship. What a critical moment in the life of this nation this just happens to be?

What is God saying to us? To you?

Consider these words written by Dennis Wrigley of the Maranatha Community for this moment in history:

A KAIROS CALL

The Lord is asking

Is it stop

Or is it go?

Is it yes

Or is it no?

Is it death

Or is it life?

Is it peace

Or is it strife?

Is it moving as one

Or is it falling apart?

Is it warmth of the Spirit

Or is it hardness of heart?

Is it zeal for the Kingdom

Or is it drift and decay?

Is it the gloom of the night

Or God’s glorious new day?

Is it muting the trumpet

Or wielding the sword?

Is it forward

Or back?

Is it defence

Or attack?

Is it moving

Or staying?

Is it striving

Or being?

Is it watching

Or seeing?

Is it fluttering

Or flying?

Is it living

Or dying?

Is it a temple

Or a tent?

Is it in ownership

Or rent?

Is it here

Or is it there?

And if not here

Where oh where?

Is it now

Or is it then?

And if not now

When oh when?

 

Dennis – Maranatha 8th December 2012

Maranatha Home

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12.12.12

December 9, 2012

12.12.12. A Time of prayer and listening. A call to align with God, and His purposes for our lives.

 
Across the spheres of our society, God, who is light, is revealing that which has been hidden in darkness. He is calling His people to pray. He is calling his people to communicate His love and to speak out boldly in the midst of crisis.

 
At 12 noon on 12.12.12 will you join us in gathering together to pray? The number 12 speaks of God’s perfect government, and of His authority. This is a moment to pray for God’s government in our individual lives, in our churches and in our nation.

 
Wherever you gather with other believers, please pray for these two key areas:

Pray for an awareness of what God is doing at this time, of being part of the Body of Christ and say yes to being in alignment with Jesus, the Head of the Church.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

 
We will come before God in quietness, in humility, seeking His direction for each of our lives, and with hearts repentant of the sin that is in the church as well as the nation. We believe that God will speak, and hear our prayers. Our prayer is that as we unite and align under Gods authority we will begin to see the manifest authority of God in our land.
Please feel free to feedback to us.

 

(This is the text of a message which has been sent out to many prayer networks under the banner of Together for the Nation, a coalition of Christian ministries.)

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Let’s Have Breakfast!

November 4, 2012

It’s a major junction in history, Jesus has risen from the dead, and is launching a whole new era of life with the Holy Spirit. Jesus meets the disciples on the beach, and teases them about their lack of a catch – a pointed reminder for Peter of his original encounter with him. By the way -all the while, Jesus already had a fire going and fish cooking! Just as the first time when Peter met him, Jesus suggests throwing the fishing net overboard again. Again it happened, a great catch. The first time this happened, the nets began to break, but this time the disciples noted the large number of fish, and that the nets did not break. It is said that that at that time there were thought to be 153 species of fish, so these men who had been called to be ‘fishers of men’ would immediately see the significance: They were called to reach all species of fish – all mankind! The nets were not breaking, the nets were full, every nation was represented, and the surprising catch was a divine intervention!

Jesus is about to talk to the disciples about their future ministry and priorities in the great and wonderful new era that was opening up; A vision to reach the ends of the earth and teach all people everywhere about the Kingdom. Before he gets to that he says

“Come and have breakfast”

What an insight into the nature and character of Jesus! At this momentous turning point of history he doesn’t launch a teaching programme or organise a seminar. He is at peace, relaxed, and practical. He has breakfast with his close friends.

Let’s be like Jesus. Who wants breakfast?

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Judgement

October 30, 2012

I have had numerous comments about the topic of judgement. I believe this is a vital area in which clarity is needed. For this reason I am editing and re-posting some comments I made previously:

In brief:

  1. I  mean ‘judgement to be when the government of God is manifested to correct or restore situations, or to halt evil.
  2. The Bible is clear that God judges individuals, families, communities, organisations and nations
  3. He often is ‘slow’ to act in judgement
  4. The most alarming aspect of God’s judgement is that he hands us over to our choices

I am meaning judgement to be when the government of God is manifested, and when God intervenes to implement His will, it is judgement. I am thinking of God’s judgement which implements justice and corrects. Often people think in only terms of ‘punishment’ – but God’s grace always seeks redemption. Human acts of ‘judgement’ are often destructive or vindictive, but God’s judgement is corrective, health bringing and restoring. I think there is strong Biblical teaching on God’s judgement – through, and post The Cross of Jesus.

A few examples relating to this time – after the cross:
Personally – 1 Cor 11 – ‘individuals eating and drinking judgement on themselves.’
Publicly – Acts 5, Annanias and Sapphira lying in the presence of the Holy Spirit;
In choices and behaviour, Galatians 6.7 – ‘reaping destruction’ as a result of choices;
Globally – 2 Peter 3.9 – the coming judgement.
Romans 13.2 seems to be very specific about ‘rebellious people bringing judgement on themselves.’

All these examples seem to be prophetic warnings relating to judgement relating to behaviour in the present time.

The cross offers an escape from the wrath of God, and the judgement for sin. We have an obligation to warn of the consequences of sin. The consequences are temporal and eternal, visible and invisible. Our actions as individuals, communities, nation and church have consequences. I am convinced that the Lord of all is alive and active, blessing and judging, because His justice is perfect.

I wish the whole church would start to really interrogate this issue. As I explore the matter I find my own gaps, insecurities and shortcomings.

Early in the life of the Church (after the cross!) God acted extremely swiftly to stop what happened with Ananias and Sapphira, and yet today the Church is riddled with half truths and compromised living, and yet it could be argued that nothing seems to be happening. I feel that much of the answer is actually the message I have prophesied: God is starting to take action in a new way and the prophecy is a warning ( https://johnmanwell.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/a-new-tsunami/  ). Another scripture – ‘judgement begins at the household of God.’ We, the Church are obligated to assess our own compromise, half-truths and self indulgence, before we warn the nation that our national turning of backs on Christian principles will have consequences. The challenge to the church is extremely grave. The division and lack of humility of the Church is awful. The lack of being ‘the hands and feet of Jesus’, and mouth, of Jesus, is a serious issue.

God DOES give words and insight. To the extent that police officers have in the past approached believers for help – leading to serious trauma being averted in past cases. Of course, this does not get publicity for obvious reasons. The fact that large parts of the Church are more focused on a having ‘a great meeting’ on Sunday rather than stopping and listening to God might be one reason that he is not being heard. We are his hands and feet (and mouth). He is waiting for obedience, but the Bible is also clear that his patience will reach a limit. Sometimes we don’t hear Him because we have already decided what we will be willing to hear. The prophecy I have publicised is primarily calling for a return to listening, to obedience and it is a timely warning that God will be acting. How soon? I don’t know. I have been carrying this burden for 25 years, but I am starting to see the things that God showed me in the spirit in the 1980′s. What I am convinced about is that He has compelled me to speak out with the part that I have – with a strong measure of urgency. The whole answer will come through the whole Church.

The most alarming aspect of judgement is that God gives us up to our own choices. The inward looking indulgence of the western church will bring about its own implosion. The self serving addiction to credit and consumerism will become it’s own judgement. For a full generation, the British have voted primarily for the government that seems to offer the best standard of living. Our abuse of democracy is itself already becoming a self imposed judgement. Democracy is almost dead in Great Britain and no-one noticed. The anti-God pursuit of secularism which the UK has almost entirely converted to, is itself the time-bomb which will demolish religious emptiness, and expose our desperate need for the God of the Bible in public life and social fabric. The law of reaping and sowing has not been repealed.

Lord David Alton, within a stunningly clear presentation of the national need for Jesus, at one point quoted Martin Luther-King:

“Our lives will end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”

History gives us many warnings. One is this: in the 1930′s the early days of the rise of Nazism was typified by introductions of anti-god initiatives such as euthanasia, abortion for convenience, and sidelining of Christian authentic thinking in public life. When the Church remained silent, Hitler took great encouragement to believe that he would not face much opposition if he went further. Embarrassed by their silence prior to that point, the Church at large continued to remain silent. The destruction of millions of Jews, travelling people, disabled people and homosexuals was the consequence. A silent church will ultimately take great responsibility for national events. This is our current situation with a few exceptions.

From what I hear from the Holy Spirit, we have weeks to consider this, not years. It seems the tsunamic of judgement is already apparent in our national life, national institutions and communities.

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October 4, 2012

I was present last night when Lord David Alton gave this talk. Lord Alton is astonishingly consistent and persistent. His ability to present the argument without aggression and yet stir people’s hearts is immense. This presentation is worth stopping what you are doing and reading with attentiveness.

David Alton's avatar

  http://davidalton.net/media/  

Click on this link for the power pont presentation which accompanies this lecture and which is in the Media section of the web site.

Click on the linkbelow for a link to the video recording of the lecture:

http://maranathacommunity.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/maranatha-lecture/

Why Britain Needs The Sharp Compassion of the Healer’s Art

Maranatha Lecture October 3rd 2012. Manchester.

David Alton

Thanks

I am very pleased to have been asked to deliver this Maranatha Lecture tonight, especially as it gives me the opportunity to thank Dennis and Sheila Wrigley for their friendship and encouragement over these past 40 years.

Let me also thank Kevin McKenna for his work in organising tonight’s event.

Maranatha’s call for unity, renewal and healing has always been close to my heart and although all three of those words are each worth an entire lecture I have chosen tonight to concentrate on the damaged and wounded…

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Four Years

September 30, 2012

Yesterday, with the National Day of Prayer at Wembley Stadium, was the Saturday ending the week which ends the four years since God gave me the word about 4 years of preparation:

In March 2008 the Holy Spirit had been speaking to a group of us about a serious economic collapse which would manifest itself from September 2008. Everyone remembers the economic ‘melt-down’ which has come to be labelled the ‘credit crunch’ and the ‘banking crisis’. During the most dramatic moments of that storm I prayed about all that God was showing us that we were to do. One of my questions was a request that the Lord would show us some of his strategy for the coming years. It was in response to that question that I believe the Lord showed me a four year period of preparation – in business and in public life, after which there will come a new season of unprecedented shaking across the world. I believe that the 4 year period is now coming to a close and God is seeking our attention in readiness for the most serious shaking of our nations. This may be the most substantial shaking since the second world war, and certainly as far reaching.

Very recently, a number of my closest praying friends have experienced dreams and visions of dramatic physical shaking and flooding in the UK. The message which has accompanied these revelations has been in almost every case, ‘seek God’, ‘Come up to higher ground with God’ or ‘Listen to Me.’ It seems clear that God is wanting to get the attention of His people, and that He intends to demonstrate his presence and leading through a time of tremendous shaking and turmoil in the world.

We believe that God has been preparing us for a very serious economic storm for which the only preparation is to be close to Him and to be well practised in listening to Him.

Those who say that there is no God are cutting themselves off from His protection and provision. Those Christians who say that there is no judgement will find that their theology will fail them. Those who teach that ‘anything goes’ will discover that without a foundation, the building is collapsing. In the shaking, God seeks to draw people to the truth, to train the Body of Jesus to listen, and to show His glory through people of genuine faith.

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