Christians challenge Costello’s advice to ‘suck it up’
Michael Kellahan executive director of Christian think tank Freedom for Faith “If Australia wants to be able to speak with credibility to places without freedoms we need to show that we take freedom for all people seriously here,” Bruce Melle minister and assembly clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, called the piece a “strident, raucous overstatement” ….
Mercy 4. Mercy and Judgement
Grace and mercy in time of need are ours for in Christ we are vessels of mercy who can confidently ask God to bring pour forth mercy through own lives. As Daniel in exile knew that the Lord would show mercy on account of his prayers and as Jesus in his petitions in Gethsemane had faith for coming mercy beyond a time of judgement, through the gospel this can be our expectation.
Loving the Trinity
The problem with the wider Church today is that it is choked up by an immature love. Mature love doesn’t love God for his benefits, real and wonderful as they are, but loves God for his sake. It is being bathed in this love that drives out all fear of being unloved
Pentecost and Prophecy Today
The Church and the world desperately need men, women and children giving a clear witness of Jesus Continue Reading
Mercy 3. The Blood of the Cross
Like Jesus, he understood that God has not saved us from the cross but through the cross. Any situation in life, no matter how naturally misery-inducing, when yielded with understanding to the Lord, can be transformed from an occasion for misery to a vehicle for God’s mercy to flow out to others.
Ascended Sonship
2 Ki 2:1-15 ESV Ps 110: 1-7 ESV Acts 1:1-11 ESV Luke 24:44-53 ESV Introduction The ascension of Jesus is the climax of his earthly life for it is the point when his humanity is taken up into God’s home… Continue Reading
Mercy 2. The Teaching and Miracles of Jesus
If divine mercy flows to human misery then we surely need, an insight into how the Lord sees our present spiritual state, personally, in the Church and in the nation. Then we will cry for mercy, then the Lord will touch our misery. God’s heart wants to touch our hearts through the cross, the subject of our teaching next week.
Mercy Series 1: Introduction and Old Testament
This is clear in the Old Testament, but do we realise that God’s people today have been struck by his justice so we might be moved to appeal for mercy. There is a gift of distress that earnestly entreats the divine favour
Creator of Heaven & Earth along with Israel Folau; Found guilty of a “high level” breach with Rugby Australia
Creator of Heaven & Earth found guilty of a “high level” breach.
These Fools @RugbyAU Say, There Is No God
vs.14 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good. Psalm 14:1 ESV
Church Leaders to exercise leadership Where was the Christian Vote in the Federal Election of 2010? by Lachlan Dunjey.
I am saddened and sometimes overwhelmed by the anti-God philosophies of our day and by the failure (still) of many Church “leaders” to give leadership on the issues that really matter, giving essential information and guidance on how not to support the passage of evil into law.
Made for Glory by John Yates
Paul says of all those who have fallen short away from the splendour of the Lord, vs.22 “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Rom 1:22-23
ESV)4).
To one degree or other, every Australian has exchanged the glory of God for idols like happy families, financial security, ecstatic experiences, entertainment, sport, sexual identity, nice houses, pleasant churches and so on.
Revival Studies 5. The End of Revival
Once full of the Spirit always full is true for the once crucified Jesus but not for the Church; we need to be filled again and again.
The lost need to “see and hear” (Acts 2:1-4, 11, 32-33 ESV) the mighty works of God in our own day as they did first at Pentecost.
Revival Studies 4. Beautifying the Bride
Over the centuries even sinners have recognised that in the lives of people like St Francis, Fr Damian, William Booth, Mother Teresa, David Wilkerson and Matthew Barnett a radiance into this world from somewhere beyond.
This can and should be the character of the whole Bride of Christ.
Persecuted Forgotten Jesus
So ignoring the cries of afflicted saints is before God like watching Jesus being beaten, whipped and crucified without crying, wailing, weeping, and imploring God to show mercy. Continue Reading
Revival Studies 2. The Spirit and Revival
The Spirit is groaning to renew the whole creation starting with the Body of Christ. He is the only one who can lift us up in our weakness. Revival is a sudden experience in the Spirit of Jesus standing in our midst with no distance, even if the great difference, between us and Christ.
Each of us must ask, “What is there in me that causes revival to delay?”
If the Lord grants us to grow in our groaning about the abominations in and around us then revival will come as surely as the resurrection came for Jesus.
The cost of not having a revival is too great to contemplate.
The Thankful Foreigner (Healing of the 10 Lepers)
We live in a nation that refuses to thank God. Our national anthem happily extols “nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare” but there is no recognition of a Creator. Most Christian people take the gifts of God for granted. But is faith without thanksgiving real faith at all? But it would not be right to finish a sermon with a focus on our faith. Jesus is still the God of the marginalised, of gentile soldiers, sinful women, younger sisters and detested Samaritans. Continue Reading
Revival Studies 3. Fullness is Christ
You can’t plug the absence of the presence of the glory of God with human programmes.
Jesus died and rose to take us out of our tiny selves into the fullness of God
Revival is all about the intensity of the glory of God, with its mass conversions, miracles repentances, healings and so on, being a prophetic sign of the reality that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Revival Studies 1. Earnest Prayer
We must confess that the prayerlessness of us all reveals that in our hearts we don’t accept the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty”. And so we need to petition the Lord for an outpouring of the Spirit who so mightily worked salvation through the prayers of Jesus, especially in Gethsemane and on the cross
We need to ask the Lord that if we have no inner burden for a supernatural move of God that he gives us one.
If we do have such a burden, we should get on with praying and the more we pray the more the Spirit will be given to us for more prayer until finally, in God’s time, a great spiritual awakening will come.
The Church Under Attack – A Church Equipped for The Times
What do we need to do now, this year? What/who do we need to be? How to respond to attack? The question “what’s next, Lord?” exercises my mind frequently as I guess it does yours.
Finishing Well Part 4 The Finish of Paul
The “world” is primarily non-Christians hostile to Christ, but more broadly the world is a total state of affairs fallen from the will of God.
Whatever comes against you in life, whatever causes grief, don’t take it personally, don’t make it about yourself, realise by faith everything belongs to Jesus and has meaning in him.
Their Hour (Crazy with Jesus)
If no-one has ever labelled you as somehow crazy for following Christ, you should re-examine your call. Persecution may be no recipe for revival, but my experience of Christians from around the globe who have been truly oppressed for Christ is that suffering for Jesus always breeds true discipleship. Continue Reading
Finishing Well Part 3 Finishing in the Spirit
Apart from an understanding of the ways of the Spirit in forming true sons many “fair weather” Christians will think God has abandoned them and will fall away just as Jesus predicted
Wise children of God who want to finish well should ask the Lord for power in the Spirit to offer themselves as living sacrifices for the sake of the gospel
Finishing Well Part 2 Finishing with Jesus
Do you know that your own life in Christ is of infinitely more worth than all the treasures and pleasures of this world?
It is said of the witness of Moses in Hebrews chapter 11, vs.25 “choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. vs.26 He considered disgrace for the sake of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”.
A timely reassurance for 2019
Yes, I love your email address. Obviously, 247 must refer to Psalm 24:7 St George’s Edinburgh sung in the grand style.
Turning Barns into Baskets
When the disciples left their workplace in following the call of Jesus, they entered a space in life where they possessed “no visible means of support” – no status, vocation, honour in the eyes of the world. This was a space of serving the Lord through serving others that made room for baskets of divine supply.
Finishing Well Part 1 Don’t Love the World
In what part of our lives are we running in vain, lacking the presence and power of the love of the Father because we are in love with the world?
With a mind set on Christ above, there is no room for the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”.
Delighting in Lowliness
I have a sense that we need to respond to what the Lord is saying in two ways. Firstly, to ask his forgiveness wherever we have compared ourselves to others, in any way.
Secondly, that we confess on behalf of the Church that where she high-mindedly testifies, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” in reality she is “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked”
Myanmar 2018 Part 7: Confessing Great Things 16 DEC 2018
In our hearts every truly “born again” believer carries the mystery of Christ and it is super-natural work of the Spirit to place the testimony of Jesus on our lips.
Myanmar 2018 Part 6: The Glory of Angels 13 DEC 2018
ANGELS AND THE PLAN OF GOD The creation and election of the angelic host is contained in God’s eternal choice of his Son to be Saviour.
Church under water Drowning 10 DEC 2018
BACKGROUND A few weeks ago, in our early morning Perth Prayer session several of us simultaneously sensed that the Lord was calling his people to go deeper in him. Even as it’s good to see a grid of prayer is… Continue Reading
Beautified by the Word
Gen 1: 1-31 ESV | Ps 19:1-11 ESV | Heb 1:1-4 ESV | John 1:1-18 ESV INTRODUCTION Since I believe Dale’s claim in last Sunday’s message that much of the Church, including St Mark’s, is under judgement, is true, I want… Continue Reading
Authority to Disciple 06 DEC 2018
The key to the revelation of Jesus as Son of God through our lives (Acts 9:20, 25 ESV) is submission to the call of God, whatever the cost.
More Than Conquerors 2018 DEC 02
Only Jesus can transform suffering from the sphere of defeat to the sphere of boundless victory.
Word for word
When in the power of the Spirit the children of God use scripture, they are not like parrots or superstitious people (Matt 6:7 ESV) but are operating in oneness with the Word moving all creation to its appointed goal.
Myanmar 2018 Part 5: Restoring God’s Reputation 25 NOV 2018
Myanmar 2018 SEVEN Part series Isa 52:13 – 53:12 ESV; Phil 2:5-11 ESV Introduction The Western Church has become accustomed to scandals at every level. The scale of the disgrace exposed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse is well… Continue Reading
Myanmar 2018 Part 4: Stephen and the Final Judgement 19 NOV 2018
The glory of having been set free from fearing the judgements of authorities in this world through certainty about the verdict of the Last Judgement. This revelation is powerful beyond words.
Spirit Life
Christians stop growing into Christ-likeness when they resist the working of the Spirit.
Myanmar 2018 Part 3: Glorious Unity 05 NOV 2018
Glory makes the invisible God visible. Jesus is no longer alone in the glory of his Father (cf. Heb 2:10 ESV) because his death has released his glorified life into the world.
Myanmar 2018 Part 2: The Word and Spirit of Love 29 OCT 2018
Myanmar 2018 SEVEN Part series INTRODUCTION The gospel, as we all know, came to Burma…India…China…to the cannibals of the South Pacific and so on through the great Protestant mission movement in the 18th-19th centuries. So spiritually sacrificial was this move… Continue Reading
Myanmar 2018 Part 1: Overcoming the Last Obstacle to Revival 21 OCT 2018
The single thing that blocks any sort of testimony to Jesus, including words of wisdom, knowledge and prophecy, is fear.
Paul is adamant, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Continue Reading
Common Feet
Revolutionary generosity in the Church will be opposed by the Church.
But nothing less than genuinely offering something for nothing for the sake of a broken world can restore the reputation of Christ’s people in Australia.
Fear’s Gift of Humility
“The fear of the Lord” is a “Treasure”
To be truly conformed to Christ is to have the Spirit place the Lord’s heart inside us so we are united with Jesus in the movement of his Passion.
Inheritance is Christ
The concept of the believer’s inheritance highlights the dignity of the family relationship of the believer in Christ, The greatest part of our final inheritance will be God himself the God that is revealed as the Father of Jesus.
Under the Canopy of Heaven 8. “The End of Heaven”
“The End of Heaven” refers principally to heaven as the goal or destiny of all the works of God. This must be centred on Jesus, for “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” Col 1:16 ESV .
Heaven wasn’t first of all created for humans like us but for the Son of God as the Word made flesh. John 1:14
Warning, Warning (teachability & relational dependency)
In an age marked by the commoditisation of Christianity only godly partnerships based on pure love will survive the testing of God. Any movement whose foundation is less than this will be undermined by selfish ambition (James 3:13-18 ESV).
Under the Canopy of Heaven 7. Father in Heaven 09 SEP 2018
Only the Holy Son of God who is the “man of heaven” could bridge the gap between sin-bound people and the heavenly Father.
Adam and Christ 09 SEP 2018
For Adam to reign you don’t have to do anything- just be your old self. For Christ to triumph you need to exercise faith and ask in each and every circumstance of life, especially the hardest, that Jesus be your King.
Faith and Righteousness
Anyone without this inner compulsion of grateful love to share Jesus is either unconverted or a Christian who doesn’t understand the greatness of what it means to be right with God.
Under the Canopy of Heaven 6. Heaven and the Holy Spirit
INTRODUCTION We naturally think of our “heavenly Father”, and Jesus is obviously no longer on earth. But we struggle to locate the Holy Spirit in any way. This thinking has some biblical support, e.g. vs.7 “Where shall I go from… Continue Reading
Under the Canopy of Heaven 4. Heavenly Worship in Hebrews
Let us therefore exhort one another to assemble with Jesus (Heb 10:24-25 ESV) pressing in to enter the sanctuary in heaven as priests offering “acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Heb 12:28 ESV)
No Reputation: the Humble Father
All of God’s promises are so that we might “become partners in the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4 ESV).
Under the Canopy of Heaven 1. The Throne of Joy
Without a vision the “things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3 vs.1 ESV) the world will (continue to) dominate your life.
Armageddon Today
May God’s Spirit unveil to us that the time is near (Rev 1:1, 3) so that longing for more of Jesus we might come into a much richer share in the righteous victory of the blood of the cross.
Under the Canopy of Heaven 3. The Will of Heaven
Let us ask God for an unveiling of the greatness of the heavenly realm in Christ, which is our destiny in him, in order that our hearts might be moved to a deeper and deeper obedience.
The Days of Noah or the Days of Elijah
In these amazing days we should all be those who ‘pray without ceasing.’ And rejoice for the day of the Lord, is at hand.
Plump Skeleton
The great prophet of the Spirit could only answer the Lord’s question, ““Son of man, can these bones live?””, with his own question, ““O Lord God, you know.”” (Ezek 37:3 ESV).
Where has the Spirit Gone? Part 2 The Spirit of Righteousness
The passion of the Holy Spirit is to pour into us the mighty revelation of the righteousness of God Continue Reading
Riot, revival and the Leadership Crisis in the Church
When in God’s time the Spirit moves a harvest of souls will come in without any frantic human exertion (Rom 9:16 ESV cf. Zech 4:6 ESV). And he will get all the glory.
Where has the Spirit Gone Part 4: Laying on of Hands
The New Testament takes the laying on of hands in powerful and exciting new directions.
Sharing in Christ 3. Glorification 17 JUN 2018
God’s great purpose in creation was to “bring many sons to glory” through the suffering of his own Son (Heb 2:10 ESV)
Sharing in Christ 1. Humanity
If you are not Jesus centred; then you are centred on something else; you’re self-centred, family-centred, money-centred, pleasure centred or even (how dreadful) church-centred. Today let us run to Christ and implore him to share his life with us so that we might our lives with him, whatever the cost…
Where has the Spirit Gone? Part 3: In the Spirit
INTRODUCTION The shift from lots of religious talk (2 Tim 3:5) to the manifest power of God’s kingdom in signs, wonders and gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 4:20; Heb 2:3) is a change most congregations in Australia are unable… Continue Reading
Discerning a Wedding Word 24 MAY 2018
A clandestine liberalism is spreading even through nominally Bible-believing churches. Many Christians are being assimilated to societal values without knowing it; our discernment is shot.
Rainbow Submission. 09 MAY 2018
If God grants us humble prayerful submission to each other then the one Bride of Christ truly submitted to her Lord will come forth in our cities and they will experience his gracious power to bring social, cultural and spiritual transformation.
Call and Gifts
I used to teach that God calls us to perform a particular task and gives us the gifts to perform that task. This is true, but such a task-centred approach is hopelessly inadequate to express the depths of what it… Continue Reading
Compromising with and giving respectability to evil
SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO MAKE CHOICES Continue Reading
Proclaiming Truth – Confronting Evil, Real and Fictional
• THERE are times when we need to understand the times and know what to do, like the Men of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32).
• THERE are those that need to be informed, those that need to inform (yes, our preachers included) and those that need to participate in the confrontation even at the risk of being, in turn, condemned by others for the proclamation of truth.
Cities of Blood
Only a Body whose unity, security and protection are exclusively in Christ can enjoy true rest and unconditional peace. Continue Reading
Unbelief
The healing that our hardened hearts need can only come from heaven, we must ask our Father to send us his Spirit to stir us up to plead for the honouring of the name of Jesus
Continue Reading
Foundation’s Sacrifice
Looking across our culture and inside the Church I see vast amounts of selfish ambition which have placed us under a severe divine penalty.
Continue Reading
The Cross in Hebrews
If guilt and shame are alive in you – stop looking at yourself, stop trawling over your past, stop comparing yourself to others….come confidently to Christ to find grace, mercy and full forgiveness in time of need (Heb 4:16 ESV) Continue Reading
Tested to be Revived 01 MAY 2018
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
vs.5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
Where has the Spirit Gone? Part 1: Groaning is a Gift for Glory
Whoever groans in the Spirit of Christ will certainly receive an answer to their prayers. Continue Reading
Serving the Lord over the Powers
Since we are raised up with Christ no power can legitimately accuse us of sin before God Continue Reading
Why the Vision Perishes 18 FEB 2018
Let’s stop focusing on signs, wonders, healings, power and crowds, all of which can be present in false/immature revivals, and let’s start praying for humility for it is the seed bed of every mature move of God.
Renaming “God”
peoples all over the world believe in a great Creator, but knowledge of such a distant deity never has power to save Continue Reading
Driven Mad
Then the resurrection power of the Father will heal many minds, inside and outside of the community of God. Continue Reading
Fighting On with the Lord of Hosts
Whoever has a revelation of the name of Jesus as the crucified Lord of Hosts will fight on…to the very End Continue Reading
Saving Australia’s Day
God’s wonderful plan for all Aussies, ancient tribes and new (Eph 1:10; Rev 5:9) Continue Reading
Fighting to the Very End
We all have plenty of things worth fighting for: marriages, children, grand-children, friends, neighbours, workmates, health, finances…… Continue Reading
Eastern Lightning: aka Church of Almighty God aka Church of the Gospel’s Kingdom aka The Gospel of the Descent of Kingdom
Cult movement pseudo christian Eastern Lightning (Chinese: 东方闪电; pinyin: Dōngfāng Shǎndiàn) THIS MOVEMENT ARE ACTIVELY PROMOTING VIA FACEBOOK. APOLOGETIC REVIEW Articles on this organisation Cult publishes under multiple site. Continue Reading
A Song of Protest: a call for prophetic music
Listen to the music and you will see that this spirit is running riot in our churches. Continue Reading
How one pastor is responding to Australia’s redefinition of marriage
I thereby revoke my right to conduct weddings as a recognised agent of the Act, and sever any other official connection to it.
I will only recognise male-female unions. Continue Reading
Married for War
INTRODUCTION I have long taught that the key to finding understanding, strength and growth in a Christian marriage comes from a revelation of the marital relationship between Christ and the Church, this is clearest in Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:31-32;… Continue Reading
Old and Young for Jesus
Bible Readings: Is 61.10-62.3; Ps 148; Gal 4.4-7; Luke 2.22-40 INTRODUCTION The Royal Commission into sex abuse provided countless examples of how so-called “Christians” had misused their privileged positions. In mid year the media was saturated with claims of heightened… Continue Reading
Forget the Lunch: a prophetic recipe for revival
INTRODUCTION On the 20th of December after a scintillating session of carols at Perth Prayer the floor was opened for anyone to take the microphone. Few seemed hesitant, and the prayers of several zealous young men reminded me of my… Continue Reading
Baptism vs ‘Christmas’
Baptisms 17.12.17 Isa 7:10-16; Ps 72:1-8; Rom 1:1-7; Matt 1:18-25 INTRODUCTION I will never forget the experience of being in Cairo during the call to prayer when countless loudspeakers saturated the atmosphere with the Islamic declaration of faith; or recently… Continue Reading
Seeing Jesus’ Glory in All Things
Bible Readings: Heb 1:1-4 with Rom 8:28-30, then 2 Cor 5:14-17 INTRODUCTION While teaching in Hong Kong last weekend I came into much greater clarity on what it means to be able to “see Jesus” in the everyday circumstances of… Continue Reading
We really have lots to celebrate 2017
One might say I’m big on Christmas celebrations, well there maybe some truth in it! It is such a significant date or time in our annual calendar. Continue Reading
Politics or Jesus
INTRODUCTION This teaching was provoked by recently reading “To Change the World” by sociologist James Davison Hunter. His persuasive thesis is that in engaging the powers of the political realm American Christians have been ensnared in the world’s ways of… Continue Reading
God is not mocked!
Any attempt to play ‘God’ as a Fool is an act of insanity! Which brings a pay day that has eternal consequences Continue Reading
The Sin of Sodom 1 and 2nd time!
Make sure you are not living in the land of the second Sodom and Gomorrah! Continue Reading
Christ Centred Community of Faith
Prime Directive: exist solely for the purpose of reflecting in the world who Jesus is! Continue Reading
Intolerable Evil
Christians feel the world around them is becoming progressively more evil: Intolerable evil may be everywhere but the Lord always deal with it first among his people. Continue Reading
Christ Only
“Christ is the only way of salvation of all who were, are now, or shall be.” “our salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ Acts 4:12 Continue Reading
A Perspective on our times to a Christian audience.
The next threat is internal and is from the aggressive atheistic lobby with the leftists onside in wanting to erase anything Christian, re-writing our Christian heritage, stopping children from talking about Jesus in recess, replacing Happy Christmas with happy holiday, and with the militant evolutionists wanting to deny any uncomfortable evidences or logic in Intelligent Design and barring scientists who do accept ID – or, even worse, flood geology or Creation Science – promotions in their university or other fields. Continue Reading
Real Hate
Ordinary Christians are shocked by the vilification they receive on Facebook if they post, “It’s Ok to say No.”, but the Spirit is helping us to see that we are in a day of moral and spiritual insanity. Continue Reading
Ephesians 6:1-9 Life at Home and Work
Jesus did the will of God from the heart even when it was very painful to do so, and so must we. Continue Reading
Reformation 2: Grace gives Freedom
There is nothing crueller than a teaching that throws human beings back on relying on themselves for faith. Continue Reading